Gundam Seed Resolution
by Hawk Strife
Summary: First Gundam Fic, 5 years after the second war ends, the time for groups of soldiers from different organizations comes. Earth Alliance, Orb, and Zaft will fight together against a common enemy, but who will survive? Chpt 2 Revamp
1. It begins again

Revamp!

INTRO

Earth's tensions never died down ever since the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War between Naturals and Coordinators. Although Blue Cosmos became leader-less, the organization has yet to disband and it continues to spout nonsense of its "pure and blue world." For now, however, their actions have remained verbal and not physical.

The many soldiers that fought in the war have tried to go back to peace, though they know that a true peace has not been reached as of yet. A final war will commence that will shake the very foundations of the Earth itself.

But until then, peace and the hope for no more wars continue in the hearts of many, even 3 years after the end of the second.

_**Gundam Seed Resolution**_

Earth Alliance Personnel Records

CE 77

Wesley "Wes" Baxter

Rank: Commander

Current Age: 25

Physical Description: Dark skin, blonde hair, gold eyes

Accepted into the Military: CE 69

Classification: Pilot

Former Assignments:

21st Training Fighter Squadron "Fletcher" – Earth Training **Completed**

13th Training Space Fighter Squadron "Asteroid" – Space Training **Completed**

72nd Space Fighter Patrol Squadron "Comet" – 6 month **Completed**

**CE 70** Bloody Valentine War Begins

5th Fleet Cruiser "Altair"

10th Mobile Armor Squadron "Dusters" – **HQ Transfer Issued**

3rd Lead Frontline Mobile Armor Squadron "Derelicts"

"Derelicts" reassigned as a Mobile Suit Squadron

**CE 71** Bloody Valentine War Ends

**Assigned Leave**

8th Mobile Suit Experimental Squadron

**Transfer Recommended** by Commander Richard K. Baxter

2nd Fast Response Windam Squadron "Dragon"

**CE 73** Second Bloody Valentine War Begins

**ALL ASSIGNMENTS CLASSIFIED**

** CE 74** Second Bloody Valentine War Ends

Current Assignment: Lead 121st Special Mobile Suit Squadron "Last Hope" – Earth **Top Secret**

Notable Achievements:

Excellence in Space Flight Training

Commendation from Late Grand Admiral Lewis Halberton

Commendation from Captain Mwu La Fllaga "Hawk of Endemyon"

12 Listed Medals and Awards

Miscellaneous Facts:

Wes Baxter supported the Late Grand Admiral Lewis Halberton's plan for the development of the X-Series Mobile Suit program, agreeing with the need to move Earth Alliance technology forward to fight on equal terms with ZAFT.

At the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War, Wes' father, Richard K. Baxter, was killed in action. On a related note, Rear Admiral Richard K. Baxter's Wife, Pilot Rena Imelia, retired after this news.

Commander Wes Baxter is currently in a relationship with a scientist within Mobile Suit R&D named Nina Jersi. The relationship has been moving forward for two years.

The "Last Hope" Squadron, consisting of a handful of members, are considered highly skilled and consists of several customized Windams. Wes Baxter creates a sense of friendship between the entirety of the group.

Status: Active

Zak Rayce

Rank: Captain

Age: 46

Physical Description: Grey hair, blue eyes, fair skin.

Classification: Pilot

Current Assignment: Commanding Officer for the 121st Special Mobile Suit Squadron "Last Hope."

Miscellaneous Facts:

Participant in both Bloody Valentine Wars.

Nearing the age of forceful retirement as a combat pilot.

Position within "Last Hope" squadron is mainly as a supervisor position.

Nina Jersi

Rank: Civilian

Position: Head of Research and Development for Mobile Suits

Current Age: 24

Physical Description: Fair skin, light blue hair, brown eyes.

Current Assignments:

Overkill – **Classified**

Mercenary – **Classified**

Squire – **Classified**

James Badgirel

Rank: Lieutenant

Current Age: 25

Physical Description: Black hair, brown eyes, pale skin.

Classification: Pilot

Current Assignment: Second-in-Command of the 121st Special Mobile Suit Squadron "Last Hope."

Miscellaneous Facts:

Younger brother of the late Natarle Badgirel, who died at the end of the First Bloody Valentine War. Her death caused his decision to join the Earth Alliance.

Close friend of Wes Baxter and thus trusted enough to be named second-in-command.

Learned current combat skills through Zak and fought alongside Wes Baxter in the second war as a mobile suit pilot.

Reallia Mays

Rank: Ensign

Age: 23

Physical Description: Dark orange hair, light blue eyes, tanned skin.

Current Assignment: Windam Sniper for the 121st Special Mobile Suit Squadron "Last Hope"

Miscellaneous Facts:

Formerly a member of a Guerilla faction fighting ZAFT forces in Northern Africa in the first war, before she could legally fight for the Earth Alliance.

Learned how to pilot a mobile suit quickly after she joined, and Commander Baxter realized her potential after the second war, requesting her to be transferred to his squadron immediately.

Orb Union Personnel Records

CE 77

Trent Sethens

Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Current Age: 21

Physical Description: White hair, pale skin, red eyes.

Graduated from Academy: CE 76

Classification: Pilot

Former Assignments:

Graduated from the Orb Military Academy –** Completed**

7th Training Flight under Cpt. Mwu La Fllaga – **Completed**

12th Intercept Flight "Albatross" – **Transferred by CO before assignment began**

Current Assignment: 42nd Orb Island Squadron "Seagull" under Cpt. Mwu La Fllaga

Notable Achievements:

Trent Sethens entered the Orb Air and Sea academy under a recommendation from both the Royal Representative Cagalli Yula Zala-Athna and Grand Admiral Athrun Zala-Athna. He received several high marks for quickly assessing the situation in and outside of combat, as well as determining appropriate and innovative solutions with the least number of casualties possible.

He graduated at the top of his class after acclimating himself quickly to the Orb Union's regular Mobile Suit Fighter Jet (MSFJ) the Murasame. He received an immediate promotion to 2nd Lieutenant because of his achievement, and was recommended to a special squadron led by his older brother. Captain Mwu La Fllaga, having trained and witnessed Trent's potential personally, overrode the prior recommendation and had Trent transferred over to the Seagull squadron where he is currently beginning his duties.

Reko Sethens

Rank: Captain

Current Age: 25

Physical Description: Red hair, blue eyes, pale skin.

Classification: Pilot

Former Assignments:

**CE 73** Second Bloody Valentine War Begins

3rd Naval Combat Squadron "Delta" – **Squadron destroyed in combat, transferred**

7th Naval Combat Squadron "Omega" – **Transferred**

1st Space Combat Squadron under Archangel "Firefly"

**CE 74 **Second Bloody Valentine War Ends

Current Assignment: Leads the 12th Intercept Flight "Albatross"

Notable Achievements:

First of a few to volunteer as a combat squadron for the Archangel, Captain Reko showed tenacity and bravery in a situation where trusting the commanding officer was paramount to success.

His skills flying the Murasame was never questioned, though it was confirmed strongly after he and his flight destroyed the last of the three stolen Zaft Mobile GUNDAMs.

He is the older brother of Trent Sethens.

ZAFT/Plant Personnel Records

Ikros Yucker

Rank: Currently Under Deliberation

Current Age: 24

Physical Description: Tan skin, blue hair, and green eyes.

Classification: Mobile Suit Test Pilot

Accepted into the Military: CE 75

Current Assignment: Test Group for Z-175 Mobile Prototype "Zaku Mk III"

Notable Background Facts:

Hand-eye coordination and reflexes have been great since he was a young boy, even for a coordinator. However, he never actively sought to join the military and rejected any offer made by the ZAFT forces. Just under a year after the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War, his elder sister requested he join as a non-combat member of the military, to which he agreed.

Since then, he has been becoming used to the military life, and agreed to begin an active military career after the Zaku IIIs testing phase is completed soon. For this, he has requested to be placed under the command of either Yzak Jule or Dearka Elsman, reasoning a sincere trust in the leadership of these two Officers.

As a mobile suit pilot, he has been known to favor using the high-beam particle cannon.

Menla Yuker

Rank: Captain

Current Age: 30

Physical Description: Blue hair, green eyes, tan skin.

Current Assignment: Captain of the Nazca-Class Destroyer, "Shogun"

Notable Achievements:

Graduated as a Red uniform pilot at the age of 19, a few years before the first Bloody Valentine War began. As a mobile suit pilot, she witnessed and participated only in excercises and simulated combat maneuvers until the beginning of the war. She led a squadron of Ginns and fought alongside Dearka and Yzak during the final major battles of both wars. Her exploits have granted her command of her own ship.

Jaker Greyson

Rank: Commander

Current Age: 29

Physical Description: Blak hair, green eyes, olive skin.

Current Assignment: Mobile Suit Squadron Commanding Officer aboard the Shogun

Current Mobile Suit: High-mobility Gouf

Background Facts:

Self-proclaimed, and confirmed by many, expert in close-combat using the sword, electric whip and short range guns. Though experienced in combat and highly decorated as an Officer and a soldier, he made the effort to request to be placed under Menla Yuker's command. It is rumored that his request was encouraged by more personal reasons, instead of professional.

Private Personnel Records 

Blue Cosmos

Harold Sutherland

Position: Believed to be the current Leader

Current Age: Late 60s – Unconfirmed

Background:

Once an Admiral within the Earth Alliance military, he was dishonorably discharged after being placed on trial at the end of the second Bloody Valentine War. Though the charges against him (Genocide, Disregard of Human Rights, etc.) were never proven true, his reputation was destroyed and thus the military refused to keep him active. He has last been seen speaking with and in the company of other known Blue Cosmos people.

Warec Genro

Classification: Pilot – High Extended

Basic Personality: Arrogant

Block Word: Defeat

Age: 18

Current Assignment: Top Secret – Customized "Onyx" Zaku

Noted Achievements:

Top pilot of the new experimental High Extended Naturals, though he is also the most recent of the High Extended creations. Capable of surviving without a constant supply of drugs and equipment between battles. Their reflexes have been permanently upgraded, and their mental fortitude is capable of handling the stress of battle and some parts of everyday life. In many respects they are equal to coordinators in combat, and the Block word system allows for complete control.

Beka Trenesin

Classification: Pilot – High Extended

Personality: Stubborn and Rash

Block Word: Alone

Age: 20

Current Assignment: Top Secret – Customized "Crimson" Windam

Profile:

The second of the High Extended to have survived the experiment and become a full-fledged soldier and pilot. Her personality was a worry for many of the military officers, but the Block word has turned out to be an effective punishment, and keeps her inline whenever it is needed.

Rena Roilden

Classification: Pilot – High Extended

Personality: Withdrawn and Tactical

Block Word: Stupid

Age: 26

Current Assignment: Top Secret – Customized "Azure" Strike

Profile:

Because of her age, many of Blue Cosmos see her as a strange case. She was too old to have been a part of the High Extended experiments, yet the tests cannot prove she is anything but a High Extended Natural. Because of her age and light combat experience, also covered in black marks and shadows, she is the leader of the, currently, three pilot High Extended Squadron.

Louis Menr

Classification: Scientist – Natural

Age: 44

Current Assignment: Lead scientist in the Extended and High Extended experiments

Profile:

**Current information on Dr. Menr has been successfully erased.**

Information commonly remembered includes some of his books on human evolution, and a specific theory of his involving the term "Extended Natural." Since then, he has disappeared from the public eye and there have been no new publications under his name. This information is unlikely to cause any serious investigation into the organization or the Extended Natural.

Personal Note:

Dr. Menr's current progress as lead scientist of the experiments is acceptable. Keeping a close eye on his family has benefited the organization greatly; there is no reason for this current "partnership" to end at any point in the future.

However, he has been incessant in his attempts and successes to act as a father figure for the three High Extended pilots. This interaction may cause distractions for the pilots and for his progress on the experiments. It is recommended that this interaction cease and all further contact between the he and the pilots be cut off completely.

Should he make things difficult in this regard, remind him of our deal.

Aifis Qure

Rank: Captain

Current Age: 32

Current Assignment: Commanding Officer of the High Extended Squadron

Profile:

Skilled as a pilot and a combat leader, he prefers the Mobile Armor in space, but "stoops" to using the mobile suit while he is on the ground, if he is forced to leave the comfort of his ship, the Beowulf.

Personal Notes:

Captain Qure has made several notations against the usage of mobile suits and Extended, stating that they are simply no use and only serve to get in his way. Such opinions should be ignored and a response should be sent regularly teaching him the meaning of the chain of command.

Bloody Valentines Personnel Records

_Thanks given to all participating nations._

(Most are currently 22)

Cagalli Yula Athna-Zala

Rank: Royal Representative of Orb

Condition: Six Months Pregnant, extremely aggressive. Cannot pilot a mobile suit and should share some responsibilities until after the birth.

Profile:

She continues to lead her country towards a state of total neutrality even in the current and trying times. She and Athrun have been married for over a year, and her current belief in the pregnancy is that it will be a boy.

Athrun Athna Zala

Rank: Grand Admiral of Orb

Current Assignment: Upgrading and maintaining the Infinite Justice, as well as taking over many of Cagalli's duties during her pregnancy.

Profile:

Though better as a warrior, Athrun has made several attempts to be more diplomatic in his current position. Though appreciated, Cagalli has been known to berate him more than praise him in his actions. In his opinion, however, the fact that he has yet to need the Infinite Justice for another reason is enough for now. He believes that his child will be a girl, though he has no name for her as of yet.

Lacus Clyne

Rank: Lead Chairman in the ZAFT Council

Profile:

Following in her father's footsteps in searching for a permanent and peaceful relationship between Earth and the Plants. Her skills in diplomacy, and singing, have not dulled through her age and she is currently happily engaged to Kira Yamato several years by his side.

Kira Yamato

Rank: Lieutenant for Zaft

Assignment: Continues to pilot the Strike Freedom

Profile:

Continues to upgrade and maintain his mobile suit, though it has yet to see very much use since the end of the second war. His hope is that there will be no need to fight against his friend should, or rather when, the next war breaks. His caution and slight insecurity were his reasons for prolonging his asking Lacus to marry him, however his decision is now final. Cagalli has publicly expressed her relief in this.

Yzak Joule

Rank: Captain in ZAFT

Assignment: Captain of the new Grummel-Class Destroyer "Markez"

Mobile Suit: Space Combat Gouf

Profile:

Because of his mother's influence, and his past experience as a combat pilot, he was promoted to one of the White-Suited Commanders within the ZAFT fleet. He has been decorated several times and there have been many important considerations on where to assign him and his new ship. The friendship between Athrun and he has been rekindled while he has begun a new one with Kira Yamato.

Dearka Elsman

Rank: Captain in ZAFT

Assignment: Captain of the Nazca-Class Destroyer "Voltaire"

Mobile Suit: Heavy Space Combat Zaku II

Profile:

Though noted as an expert pilot and commander, he is still only a green-suited Captain because of his former betrayal during the first Bloody Valentine Wars. Though he expected to be executed then, Yzak pulled some strings to keep him alive and working within ZAFT again. Dearka has had very little interest in giving orders, compared to flying a mobile suit. His failed relationship with Miriallia Hawe has been noted and he tended to avoid the subject during numerous psychological profile sessions.

Miriallia Hawe

Rank: Civilian

Position: Freelance Photographer

Profile:

Continues a free lifestyle and has won several awards for some of her photographs, most of which tend to focus on the pain and suffering found in the world, caused by the many battles within the two wars. It's been noted that her prior relationship with Dearka is usually waved off with a simple "I dumped him." Generally speaking, no one has heard an explanation yet.

Mwu La Fllaga

Rank: Captain in Orb

Assignment: Leads the 42nd Orb Island Squadron "Seagull"

Age: 34

Mobile Suit: Murasame

Profile:

Married and happy at his wife's side. His memories have been completely regained after the end of the second war. He accepted a position as an official member of the Orb military and has a baby boy barely a year old now.

Murrue Ramius-La Fllaga

Rank: Former Captain – Civilian

Age: 32

Profile: Retired after she married Mwu, and now stays at home as the mother of her child. She also tends to keep a close connection with the former crewmembers of the Archangel. The ship itself is still held in secret below Orb's mountains, and she hopes it remains there.

Shinn Asuka

Currently: MIA

Profile:

After the end of the second war, Shinn Asuka became a ZAFT military representative for Kira Yamato, bringing him back into the Plants. Over the course of the next few months, his resolved to continue fighting for the sake of humanity. He suddenly disappeared one day, along with the floating remains of the Destiny and the Impulse. There are rumored sightings of the Destiny, although none have been confirmed.

Lunamaria Hawke

Currently: MIA

Profile:

She disappeared just when Shinn did, and is likely with him right now.

Meyrin Hawke

Rank: Staff Sergeant for ZAFT

Current Assignment: CIC for the Eternal

Profile:

She generally returns to Orb to upgrade the Archangel's computers whenever she can, and trains others in Orb to act as a decent CIC should the situation ever arise.

Andrew Waldfeld

Rank: Captain in ZAFT

Current Assignment: Captain of the Eternal

Profile:

Da Costa is his second in command, though in general there is very little that needs to be done and most times the Eternal is docked at the Plants. Captain Waldfeld continues to make different brands of coffee for people.

End Update of Personnel Records

The Indian Ocean churned peacefully, cold below the surface but still full of life. Above it, the skies were clear and the sun shined down brightly, showing the crystal blue of the sky and the deep blue of the ocean perfectly.

In the distance, a sound came like a roar of jet engines humming. Three sky blue and white colored Windams flew quickly over the water, pushing up vapors and droplets of water behind them.

"LH Leader, this is HQ. Come in, over?"

Wes pressed a button on his console immediately, speaking right after in a deep and casual tone, "This is Last Hope Leader, what's up control?" He looked over his position along the digital map, figuring that they had not moved off course from their patrol route.

"Nothing LH Leader, that's the problem."

Wes shook his head with a smirk on his face. It had been quiet for several people over the years, peace had made things dull for many soldiers who had experienced the thrill, fear and adrenaline of battle. But before he could try to reprimand the bored girl sitting at a control tower, an elder voice came through, "We're lucky to be at peace at this moment, be more grateful!"

The elder's voice came with a face not long after in the corner of Wesley's screen. The old man, with short grey hair and a bushy mustache looked comfortable in his seat, looking up towards the com-camera from under his military cap from time to time. A cigar was between his lips, lit and with a thin and transparent smoking wisp rising up from the end.

"Come on Captain Rayce," A female voice said as Reallia's helmeted head appeared just above Zak's, "this peace is pretty tense. It's boring to just keep waiting for something to happen when you know it's only a matter of time."

"I'm with you there Reallia," a younger man's voice said and, much to Wes' displeasure, also appeared as a talking head on his screen, "these patrols don't seem to be of much use anyways. Not at this moment." Said James.

"All right, that's enough," Wes said finally and had the many cameras minimize towards the corner of the screen before speaking again, "enough chit-chat from the both of you. Control are we clear to RTB (return to base)? My men aren't as motivated as I'd hoped they'd be."

"You're clear Commander, head back and take a break. Over and out."

Not more than 15 minutes later, the three Windams slowed and hovered over a platform hanging over the coast. Next to it, the Carpenteria base moved busily, with mechanics, engineers and soldiers moving from place to place. The occasional mobile suit stepped between buildings, one of which, a Ginn, gave a light wave towards the three Windams before taking off into the sky.

Before, the base belonged to ZAFT after the first war and they continued to run the base as a type of outpost on Earth. Though, now both Earth Alliance forces and ZAFT forces mingled within the base, sharing it. Wes nodded his head after landing, watching as both ZAFT and EA mechanics came along to secure his mobile suit. It was a good way to keep the peace, and allow both sides to get to know each other better. Perhaps even think twice before pulling the trigger on another man just because of a difference in genetics.

Wes stepped away from the mobile suit as it was rolled into a hangar, waving at some of the offduty ZAFT pilots nearby, one of which waved back and another simply saluted. Baxter had made several friends of the former enemy pilots, some of which he believed he had fought against a few times before, though the conversation never really came up. Wesley did not believe it was necessary either.

Wes stepped through a door and sat down in one of the few recreational rooms placed between hangars for off duty pilots and mechanics. James walked over to him, his pilot's suit open from the neck as he patted Wes on the shoulder, "Shouldn't you be going to see Nina right about now?"

"What, you mean she's here?" Wes reacted quickly with wide eyes, to which James nodded quickly.

"She's over at the hangars. Go on man, I'll take care of the report." Wes nodded his thanks before he turned about and jogged out through the door and around the corner of the building towards the closest hangar. He jogged by, peeking in to look for a familiar hue of blue hair and a white labcoat, but seeing nothing continued on towards the next hangar at the same pace.

At the third hangar he stopped and slowly edged inside towards a figure who stood still in the darkness of the hangars. Long blue hair, tied in a loose and messy ponytail, yet still reaching down to the small of her back. She pushed her glasses up, closer to the bridge of her nose as she read a document with a small flashlight between her lips. Wes grinned as he silently stepped across the floor, planting his toes slowly against the ground and edging towards her quickly.

She never moved, continuing to read her document in the privacy of the dark, until suddenly she felt arms encircle her waist and lift her up into the air. She nearly yelled, almost screaming, as she dropped the clipboard she had been holding and the flashlight that had been between her lips.

Wes laughed a bit and she relaxed nearly immediately and waited until he set her down again. She turned around, a glare in her eyes from behind her glasses, but a smile on her face. Nina then leaned up a bit and pressed her lips gently against his.

Wes smiled as he returned her kiss and then looked at her a bit confused, "I didn't know you were coming to Carpenteria."

"It was a sudden decision. We agreed to transport some mobile suits here on behalf of ZAFT." Nina answered as she pulled away for a bit, and stooped to pick up her flashlight and clipboard. She then pointed towards the two mobile suits lying flat on their backs, their tarmacs lying on the floor.

Wes walked over to their faces, looking at the grey colored armor of an inactive Phase-shift armor. "Have I seen these suits before? They seem familiar…"

"I'd think so." Nina answered quickly by his side, "You've fought against them before."

Wes then turned over at her and shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands up and with a clueless look in his eyes. Nina could only sight, smiling still as she pointed, "This one turned red, it's the Savior. Athrun was its pilot for a while." She then looked down at her clipboard before continuing, in a matter-of-fact tone that Wesley usually heard her speak when spouting numbers or technical specs, "It can transform into a fighter jet at the will of its pilot and it obviously has PHASE-shift armor. They let us have it, so I brought it here thinking they would let you pilot it from now on. I figured it would be the best of both worlds for you."

Wes grinned as he looked back at it, looking closely at the V-shaped emblem on its face. He never thought he would get the chance to pilot a true GUNDAM mobile suit. He then turned back to her, "And the other?"

"Oh. The Impulse. I don't actually know who the Commanders would allow to pilot it, but I was coming this way with one mobile suit already, bringing the other was worth the trouble."

In Wes' mind, he was already remembering something from the Second Bloody Valentine War, an image of destruction and death. "I remember this one, interchangeable parts, and like the Strike but upgraded. More powerful…"

"Yes, that's right Wes. The Sword, Aile and Launcher Modules." Nina answered.

Names of comrades came into his mind, coffins that he saluted and watched as they eventually dropped lowered them into the ground. Many of his friends had died by the hands of that mobile suit. He shook his head suddenly as a hand gripped his shoulder, he tried to fortify his smile as he turned to greet Nina's worried look.

"Well…I wonder who they'll give this one to."

Nina paused as she noticed a secret look in his eyes, and scoffed as she turned away for a moment to look at the nearly shut door. "No you don't," She said as she dropped the clipboard and the flashlight, and leaned up again to kiss him, arms wrapping around his neck.

"Yeah, I don't"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Several hundred miles North, on the coast of one of the Orb islands, a control tower looked over the view of the Indian Ocean to the West and the Pacific Ocean to the East. Deep blue waters and clear blue skies once more, along with a green forest farther away from the edge of the coast and the runway right next to it.

"Seagull Leader, this is the tower. You are cleared for take off."

"Roger tower." The voice of an adult, confident and well-trained soldier came through the comlink, "Mwu La Flagga, taking off!"

The runway seemed to spark suddenly as flames appeared behind the red and white colored Murasame fighter jet, pushing it forward and accelerating. It lifted near the end of the runway on its own, though the pilot smiled as he gave the throttle a light pull and lifted the mobile suit farther into the air at a high speed, ignoring the push and pull of extra gravity against his body.

After reaching a certain altitude, he flicked a switch and felt the machine rumble a bit as the gears pulled up into its belly. He pulled on the stick, rolling the plane to the side and beginning to circle around the airbase slowly. Watching as a line of three more Murasames reached their starting spot for take off and then pushed forward and into the air, circling around to follow after their leader.

Finally, the last and newest member of the four-man flight prepared to take off. "All right Trent," Mwu spoke into his radio, looking down at the Murasame on the ground through the glass on his canopy and the moving lines of his HUD screened a transparent image of Trent's face on the glass for him to look at. A single green line connected the moving image to the Murasame on the ground, the letters SETHENS written in bold. "just like training. Take a deep breath, move the throttle forward and then pull back on the stick."

"Y-yes sir." The pilot answered as he went through a checklist in his mind. 'Speed up,' he thought as he pushed the throttle forward 'and pull on the stick…' His view of the runway began to change and speed into a blur as the engines pushed the ship forward. He strained against the gravity for a bit, though he was by now used to it thanks to several years of training. The Murasame lifted off smoothly, just as the other three had done earlier.

"Tower here, take off looks good for Seagull Four. Captain La Fllaga, please take care of our boys while on patrol."

"Copy control. Seagull flight, finger-four formation and match my speed." With that, the lead Murasame pushed forward and sped off in the distance, heading South. The other three planes moved to catch up, following through the formation ordered. One plane flew on the left side of Mwu's plane, acting as his wingman, his support. On the right side, the third plane followed as the leader for the second pair of the fighters, while Trent followed on the right of the third plane.

All of the planes matched their speeds as they flew in, what looked like, an incomplete V-shape, gaining some altitude and letting the world pass sluggishly below them.

"Now that wasn't so bad, right Trent?"

"Yes sir! Captain!" Trent responded quickly, both hands choking the stick and causing his fighter to waver slightly in the air.

"Easy kid!" Another pilot, Mack, said, cocking a half-grin that Trent could see on his HUD, "you've graduated from flight school with high marks. There are other things to worry about besides flying a simple patrol."

"Keep choking the stick like that," the other pilot, Bitson, remarked with a light laugh, "you're going to rip it out!"

"All right that's enough, leave the nugget to get used to it on his own. I'll have you remember that you were no different when you first started active duty." Mwu said without any mirth in his voice.

The two camera views on Trent's HUD disappeared with a resounding, "Yes sir…" echoing through the coms before becoming completely silent. And for the most part, it remained like this for the patrol. The Seagull wing moved from their Southward direction and followed a slightly more Westward path through the sky.

"May day! May day!" a voice suddenly called in through the com, weak and full of static because of a distant and thus weak signal, "We've come under fi…" the signal fell into a whine for a second or two, "…eed assistance. Distress beaco…"

The signal continued to fade, in and out repeatedly with little more to go on, though Mwu reacted quickly. "Seagull wing, keep a tight formation. Unidentified craft, this is Seagull leader, Orb flight. Switch our frequency and give us a sitrep, we are on our way."

The com static burst for a moment before the voice came through again, though this time a bit clearer, "This is Greyhound One of the ZAFT forces. We've come under fire from a group of unknown mobile suits. They will not cease firing, we need immediate assistance! Follow the distress beacon to our location, please!"

"Roger, Greyhound One. Sit tight, we'll be there soon. All right everyone, it's time to push these things to the max. Full afterburner!" Mwu ordered. His Murasame seemed to explode ahead with speed as his afterburners burned through the air brightly. The other three fighters followed behind, eventually forming a straight line formation, cutting through the air and blazing high over the water.

Bright flashes and smoke appeared in the distance not long after, with several fast moving mobile suits orbited around a defending VTOL transport, firing bullets, missiles and the occasional chaff and countermeasure. Already, one of its four engines smoked black but it had yet to burst into flames.

"Seagull flight, split into paired wings and bring the fight to the enemy. Keep that transport protected!"

"Captain La Fllaga! S-shouldn't we remain neutral in this situation?" Trent asked suddenly as he tried to follow closely behind his lead plane.

"Oh you know me Seagull seven, I used to fly for the Earth Alliance. I'm always looking for a good fight, first and foremost!" Mwu said with a wide grin and a laugh, "Now just take the fight to them, we'll discuss the details later!"

Trent nodded as the screen become completely clear again, his HUD picking out and zooming into some of the enemy mobile suits. Elements of aged Daggers took several hits from the defending VTOL, and the two escort Ginns that Trent could now see a little clearer, but two other suits flew and fired at a faster rate, and looked to have no battle damage prevalent on their armors. A black colored Zaku with a surface that shined and reflected the sunlight brightly, which would have bothered Trent had the tinted glass on his helmet not already accounted for that type of sun glare. The other mobile suit, a blood red Windam, had an armor with less shine to it, but instead Trent could see minor intricacies in its creation that differentiated it from other Windams.

Mwu dove into the fight from above, smoothly steadying his aim and locking onto an enemy target. He pressed to trigger, firing a blast of energy from the cannon below his suit, followed by a barrage of missile fire. The red blast burned air around it, melting through the suit of the Strike dagger, and dissipated within the waters of the ocean. The Strike Dagger made no move, its pilot turned into dust and atoms before a static burst the rest of the suit into a show of orange flames and shrapnel raining within the battle.

Combat stopped for a short moment as the Strike Daggers and the two other suits stopped and looked up to see the rain of missiles hailing down from the sky. The Zaku and the Windam flew back, spacing themselves away as the missiles exploded between them and the VTOL transport.

"You're clear Greyhound One! Get out of there!" Bill yelled through the coms.

"T-thanks Seagull. I thought we were dead for sure…" The VTOL pilot remarked, the fear of death more than set in his mind.

Trent watched the VTOL begin to move further Eastward, while the explosions from the missiles began to clear, and the remaining mobile suits regained sight of their target. "All right boys," Mwu said on his screen, "transform. We're gonna be the wall that keeps that VTOL safe!"

"Yes Captain!" the three yelled in unison as they each flicked their respective switches and the Murasame shifted from its fast-moving fighter jet form, into the mobile suit formation that could fight toe-to-toe with any other current mobile suit. The wings narrowed as part of the afterburners moved and began the legs for the mobile suit. The cockpit moved and was then covered by a thicker sheet of armor. The screen lit up on the glass as several cameras switched on through the eyes of the mobile suit and other smaller locations around the body.

Trent raised his shield in the left hand, and the beam rifle in the right, and waited for the enemy to make their move. He did not wait long, as the dissipating cloud suddenly burst with Strike Daggers beginning to push through. Trent held his breath, already beginning to sweat as he easily pressed the trigger commanding the mobile suit to fire the beam rifle straight at the incoming Daggers. He let out the breath as he repeated, the Murasame firing several more shots. A stray beam struck the shoulder of one of the Daggers, and Mack finished it off with a well placed shot to the chest.

"Time your shots better nugget," Mack yelled as he fired while hovering next to Trent's Murasame, "don't just fire randomly or you'll run out of power, and don't stand still either!" Mack quickly hovered back after noting this, firing still as another Dagger came closer. Trent pushed away in the air, but continued to fire at an almost rapid pace, breathing heavily as he tried to focus on everything around him, and on the enclosing enemy.

Suddenly, his radar screamed a warning as dot began to get dangerously close fast. He turned the Murasame in the direction of the incoming enemy, watching as the red Windam had another burst of speed from its wings and charged towards him. Trent pulled on the stick, a burst of his own afterburners pushing him out of the way and letting the Windam miss its tackle just barely. Before Trent could sigh in relief, the Windam spun around and aimed its beam rifle at him.

He gave a short yell and raised his shield just as the red Windam fired, the energy beam impacting and then absorbed into the special alloy of the shield. The Murasame flew back from the impact from the shot, but beyond that Trent breathed a sigh of relief as he came out of the attack unscathed.

"That red one's got wicket aim!" Mack yelled through the coms, "Be careful." Trent nodded silently as he struggled to catch his breath, keeping the shield up and covering the cockpit of his mobile suit as well as he could. He took another deep breath and focused on the hovering red Windam. It whirled around and aimed its beam rifle towards him once more, and Trent narrowed his eyes as he began to analyze the few moments before. He nodded his head as Windam began to fire.

He controlled the Murasame calmly, or somewhat calmly, spinning around and boosting a bit higher and away from the accurate fire of the enemy mobile suit. He slowed suddenly as a beam of hot red shot just above the head of his Murasame, greating the top of the armored skull slightly. Trent hissed in dissatisfaction, but then pushed his mobile suit forward at a maximum burst of speed, pushed by the burners on his back.

He boosted towards the right, dodging another blazing line of fire, and then flew in an arch the rest of the distance towards the red Windam. "All right," he whispered as he came closer, "let's see how things go when we aren't fighting your way." He grit his teeth as he holstered the beam rifle in a slot at the small of the Murasame's back, and then reached towards the shield and pulled out a small cylindrical object. Once away from the shield, a striking dark pink blaze of energy materialized. Trent focused his eyes on the enemy and harshly yelled as he raised the beam sword up and over his head, before swiftly trying to bring it down over the red Windam.

His attack halted as the Windam brought its red and black shield up to block the sudden attack. Still, the Murasame followed through and pushed the Windam through the air and away from it, then Trent backed his Murasame away again, prepared to go into another charge at whatever moment it required. A quick look to the side of his screen told him that the VTOL was making good time and had already moved far enough from the battlefield to avoid any friendlyfire and enemies who might chase after it.

"Trent here!" he said suddenly as he readied the Murasame for another strike, "I'm directly engaging the red Windam!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A bit of distance from the atmosphere of Earth, within the darkness and specks of light far in the distance, a red light weaved and moved erratically. It moved with speed and purpose, halting from time to time, before turning round and going back the way it came.

Up close, the machine looked nothing like a light but was in fact, a mobile suit. A flame-red Zaku carving through space with a night colored long beam cannon held within both of its hands. One solitary camera eye swiveled from side to side in the strangely shaped head of the mobile suit. On its left shoulder, a simple shield of special metals was attached, and on the right shoulder had three sharp and dangerous-looking spikes. Similar spikes, though smaller, were found along the knees and the elbows. On the small of its back, a collapsible head axe was stowed snugly within a holster.

It came to a stop suddenly, its pilot looking over the status of the mobile suit and its piloting software with rapid eyes.

"How is it Ikros?" a window opened on his screen, transparent enough for the pilot to see through it and out into deep space. He could still easily see the words, "voice only" plastered in green over a snowy window.

"Geez Yua, I told you that there weren't any defects. She's ready to go!"

"Ikros, everything needs to be working perfectly for the upcoming tests. And we had to make some small changes in order to at least look better than the competition."

"Will you quit worrying?" Ikros said with a shake of his head, "Tallbern's Electronics isn't going to overshadow this baby, not after all the time we spent building it up. They're just a company based on Earth anyway, what would they know about space mobility?"

"That's not what Lieutenant Mathis said. That's why we made the last-minute upgrade." The female voice replied.

Ikros placed a gloved hand against his helmeted head with a sigh, "That's what you get for listening to Zeke. We haven't even made any major changes; we only installed a variable thruster. We didn't even need to test it out that much."

"Maybe, but while my job is on the line with this program, everything better work and look better than it shows on paper and better than the competition. Come on, just finish the tests on heading 337-12."

"Yeah, yeah. 337-12. Moving at full burst." The Zaku turned, the large sphere of Earth coming into its view, the thrusters on its back moving a bit before a hot white charge began to form within the cylinders.

"What? Oh, wait!"

At its peak, the thrusters exploded with a full burst of thrust, sending Ikros deep into the cushioned seat of the cockpit and straining the bones in his body. A warning light flashed red nearly immediately after pushing forward. "Damnit!"

"Ikros! I didn't mean for you to head in there at full speed!" Yua shouted over the radio, "You're heading straight for a cluster of asteroids and space junk, turn and-"

"No time!" Ikros shouted as tried to slow the Zaku down, but finding miniscule progress from the existing retro thrusters, "I'm just gonna have to push through!" He pushed the throttle forward for another sudden burst of speed. Teeth tightly grit against each other, he kept his eyes wide and focused as he came suddenly closer to the space junk, some of it moving at high and random speeds with nothing in empty space to slow it down.

He breathed in deeply and shifted the stick lightly, ducking under an incoming piece of ripped plating. The Zaku then stood straight again and rolled its right shoulder to the left, spinning between two blocks of ripped cannons and indiscernible ship pieces, sparking once in a while. Regaining his stance, Ikros hissed as he ducked down again, but made sure to keep his shield shoulder above him. A spinning piece of metal, probably a part of a larger shuttle, came close, coming just above the head of the Zaku.

Ikros began to relax and then felt a sudden severe shaking that sent him wobbling within the straps holding him to the chair. He then cringed as a long and high-pitched scraping sound echoed through the metal of the entire mobile suit. The floating wing outside had continued to spin, dragging a farther reaching piece of itself into the red shield of the Zaku. The tip dragged over it, burrowing a trench and ripping off paint and pieces of the armor plating, before sending the Zaku toppling through the void at a wild pace.

Ikros held onto the controls as warning lights flashed and sounds beeped in his face as he tried to regain control. The Zaku continued to spin, kicking in a disoriented fashion but at least slowing the spin down to the point where Ikros no longer felt dizzy looking at the screen as things spun around him. Another thump slammed Ikros back and to the side as the Zaku its back against another piece of space junk, sending it spinning in a different direction, though slower. The rest of the hazardous obstacles passed by him at a slow and fortunate pace, missing Ikros completely as he finally stopped the Zaku from spinning and instead began to sluggishly control the direction in which he went.

Ikros looked down at his radar, only to sigh at the sight of more junk and a great deal of static and interference, likely from the space junk surrounding him. The Zaku looked back over its shoulder, and Ikros tried to decide in what direction to go in. "Control, can you hear me? This is Ikros Yucker, Z-175 pilot."

The com responded with little more than static and incoherent and random chatter. Still, Ikros reacted as quickly as he could, trying to find the source of the signal, "Is anybody out there? Please respond! This is ZAFT pilot, Ikros Yucker." He held back a cringe as he thought about his answer again, he still was not an official ZAFT pilot yet, just a civilian experimental pilot.

The radio crackled yet again, static and noise bursting through, and the occasional voice. "…out..th…field…under…you assist?...Repe…need…help…"

Ikros checked the hands of the Zaku, relaxing a bit as he found it still holding onto an undamaged beam cannon. He nodded his head, "If you can hear me," he shouted into the radio, "I'll try to be on my way!"

He pushed forward, thrusters bursting the Zaku through debris and junk at a faster than reasonable pace, though not at full power. Ikros weaved between walls of metal, pipes and ice before finally reaching the edge and pushing forward into an empty expanse, letting the view of the Earth sink into his mind as he pressed the radio. "This is Ikros, can anybody hear me?"

"You won't get anyone else to respond but us sonny!" A voice called through, followed by a window full of static and the vague appearance of a graying man with a captain's had over his head looking serious and grim. "Can you assist us? I don't think we're far from your current position!"

A flash in the distance brought his attention as the com was suddenly filled with a distance noise much like an explosion, bouncing against the steel hull of whatever it was that communicated with the Zaku.

Ikros punched a few buttons as he boosted in that direction, the conversation over as the comlink suddenly ceased. The camera zoomed onto a subsequent flash that followed the first, and Ikros gained a good view of an EA transport ship firing countermeasures and whatever guns were operational against a flight of Ginns orbiting around it and firing volleys of bullets and beams.

"Shit," Ikros swore as he forced the mobile suit to boost forward as quick as it could manage, nothing dangerous in the way now to stop him from reaching the end point. He brought his beam cannon around, aiming and beginning to set up the firing solutions, taking into account his speed and the motion of the enemy and the transport, when an explosion suddenly pushed the Zaku off its path from the left.

He turned the Zaku's head to the left, using its shield for some cover as it searched for the source of the attack. A fast moving blur of blue and white passed by him, trying to ark around the shielded shoulder of the Zaku, and firing bright red beams at Ikros in rapid fashion. Ikros pushed back on the throttle, forcing the Zaku to use what retro-thrusters it had and boosting backwards in an ark to the opposite direction. He aimed and locked onto his target, now beginning to take shape and form.

He pressed the trigger, and the Zaku fired its beam cannon at full power towards the enemy. The enemy disappeared behind it, and as the danger cleared, the enemy's remnants were nowhere to be seen. Ikros had no time to ponder on it, as warning lights brightened in his cockpit and he swore again, as he spun the Zaku around to aim above it, firing the cannon blindly.

The mobile suit, now close enough for Ikros to see, was identical to the past Strike, covered in blue and white markings and attached to the Aile module to give it speed and quick mid-range attacks with its beam rifle. The shot Ikros had done had been way off target, but had shaken the Strike into avoiding the main attack on the Zaku. Instead of being cut in two pieces, the Strike managed to bring its beam sword down and through the neck of the Zaku itself. Ikros cursed as he boosted away, gritting his teeth in anger.

Now unable to use the main camera, several smaller screens appeared on the main one. The Strike forced itself forward again, swinging a wide arc with its beam sword. Ikros shifted himself as the Zaku ducked under the beam sword, he then engaged the thrusters on the legs to spin the Zaku forward and give a swift upside kick to the Strike.

The Strike began to spin around, booster remaining silent likely from shock from the pilot. Ikros then aimed his beam cannon forward and pressed the trigger again, sending another wave of beam energy. At the last minute, the Strike boosted away from the path of the incoming beam. The heat from the beam waved and melted through the black armor of the Aile thrusters, suddenly exploding a bit and sending the Strike spinning away.

Ikros gave a victory shout as he turned away and immediately sped towards the continuing battle, as the ZAFT transport continued to try and defend itself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Back on Earth, the battle continued between the unknown attackers and the Orb Murasames. Trent had remained in combat with the red Windam. Even at close-combat, with Trent chasing after the Windam with his beam sword, the Windam had managed to dodge the wild slashes and fire off a few rounds at Trent. Neither of the pilots were having an easy time with this, though Trent could constantly feel the pressure in the back of his mind, being a rookie and already being thrown into combat. He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, though his only responsibility at that moment was his life.

The VTOL transport had moved on, escorted by two of the Murasames from the Seagull Squadron. The Captain and Trent remained behind, continuing their fight with the black Zaku and the red Windam. Trent grit his teeth as he blocked another blast of light and heat using the shield, beginning to seem beat up and warped after taking so much abuse from the single enemy.

His eyes widened as the Windam charged, dropping the rifle and reaching back to pull out a beam saber. Trent nearly swore as he blocked a strike from above using his beam saber and then threw away his shield on the other arm. With a free hand, he reached up and gripped the Windam's sword arm only to find that the Windam had done that same against his own arm.

They struggled against each other's grip, though unable to break away from the stalemate they had placed themselves in.

"Say," a voice said over his radio, "you're actually pretty good!" Suddenly, an image appeared on the corner of his screen, where a red haired girl sat in a flight suit and with a helmet, smiling and looking a bit younger than Trent himself.

"A girl?" Trent reacted at the sight. Though he had not been unfamiliar with female pilots within Orb, those so much younger than him were an unusual sight. Especially any who could fight so well, and then break through Orb's military encryption codes to communicate.

"Weren't expecting that, now were ya?" The girl replied, to which Trent remained speechless but focused on keeping his Murasame's grip firm on the Windam's sword-arm. "It's too bad that our target got away, but hey if you keep protecting it then I'll see you again. Good luck there, cutie!"

Before Trent could respond, the Windam raised its knee and then extended its leg, kicking the Murasame straight on the chest, and sending it flying away before it flew off in the other direction. Trent regained control quickly, but remained unable to move as the Windam fired several wild shots, forcing Trent to fly lower and avoid being hit. It was not until Trent reached the surface of the ocean that the shots stopped coming.

Hovering just above the water, he noticed that the Zaku had escaped as well. The distance was great, and though he knew that the Murasame had the better speed, he was not certain he had the better skill in combat. He rather felt like releasing a sigh of relief at that point. The girl had been pretty, he admitted, just her simple smile would have garnered his attention in a different, and more peaceful, setting.

"Let's catch up with the transport," Trent heard Mwu say over the com, "I just received the order to escort it the rest of the way to Carpenteria."

Trent, however, was busy focusing on something else, "She…she called me cutie…"

"What was that?"

Trent stuttered as he realized he had somehow forgotten to keep his thoughts to himself, "Uh n-nothing sirt! R-right, transforming!" He half shouted as he shifted his Murasame to its fighter mode and sped off in the direction of the transport. Half-praying that his Captain had a weak attention span.

"Hey wait up," Mwu shouted as he gave chase.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Fire!"

The Captain's order was put into effect immediately, as the transports ship single remaining beam cannon glowed and fired in front of it, cutting through a single surprised Ginn. The rest of the squadron cleared away from the beam as it continued past them. It was likely trying to swat an entire cloud of flies or mosquitoes with a single sword. The Ginns flew back into position as the cannon on the ship tried to recharge, but it would not go fast enough as the Ginns all prepared to fire on the limping ship.

A red beam suddenly cut through the black void, ripping through one of the Ginns and warping the rest through waves of heat coming from being near the beam itself. One unfortunate Ginn attempted to retreat, only to have its thrusters melt and explode as pressure suddenly built inside of itself. The Ginn then lost integrity within space, beat up and affected by the heat, and exploded in a fast show of orange and white before dissipating completely.

Ikros side-glanced one of the many screens now open and looking straight in one particular direction. He found the view of the limping ship and hovered closer to its side, positioning himself to protect the part where the other gun had been totaled. "Z-175 to EA ship, what's your status?"

"We're fine Z-175. Maybe a little beaten, but we can still make it to our original objective." The graying man said, a clearer picture now appearing on the corner of Ikros' view. He had a wild beard covering his hard face, and several aged and scarred lines along with it.

"Which objective is that?"

"Earth, need a ride sonny?"

Ikros swore under his breath as he looked at a radar and a digital star map to give him a layout for his location. He had gone farther off course than he had expected, especially after he had left the space junkyard and gone farther away to help the ship. "Earth wasn't really what I had in mind. But since the Minovsky particles were placed during the battle, I can't get in contact with control. And I don't think I can make it all the way back with the power I have left…"

Beyond the fact that he had fired the beam cannon enough times to drain his overall power supply, Ikros looked over the status of his mobile suit to see that it had been damaged after fighting the Strike, and surviving the ordeal that had gotten him this far in the first place.

"We'd appreciate the support," the old man suddenly said sincerely, "our mobile suits are all gone. And we can give you the supplies and manpower to help repair yours."

"Roger that, I'm good with that." Ikros said and looked to one of the cameras as there was some sudden movement, a cargo bay door opened and revealed an empty spot, big enough for a mobile suit. Ikros nodded as he pushed the Zaku over using small bursts from the aimed thrusters on the feet and the back.

The Zaku landed and several engineers in spacesuits floated up to help secure it to the walls as the cargo bay door shut and sealed the cargo hold. The air vents began to pressurize the hold as Ikros finally opened the cockpit door on the waist of the mobile suit, standing up and floating up towards the door. His pilot suit was colored green with blue markings along his shoulders and the seams in order to further point out his civilian status. He kicked himself away, heading towards the wall closest to him where he grabbed hold of the railing to a walkway.

"This is the Captain to all personnel, especially those in the engine room," the intercom blared out above Ikros' head, "We're gonna start moving now, and I'll want full throttle within ten minutes. I don't want to deal with any more battles. So do what you can, out."

Ikros thought he could feel the gravity on the ship shift as it moved forward, pulling a few things back. He could not see very much damage done to the inner hull, at least from his perspective and he already knew that the air was breathable where he was standing at least. He walked over to a screen and keyboard attached to the wall next to his mobile suit, and pulled off his helmet. He breathed a sigh of relief as the air cooled his head a bit, and he shook a few sweat droplets off and into the floating air from his damp blue hair.

He typed a few commands before the screen opened with a young lady's face, slightly surprised to see Ikros staring back. He gave a light smile and a wave, "Hi, I need to make a call? You're communications can get past the jamming I'm guessing."

The girl looked over her shoulder for a moment before nodding and smiling at Ikros, "Ok, go ahead and input the communication frequency, and we'll set up the connection."

After a few moments of silence and typing in the background Ikros raised the microphone up to his mouth, "Control Tower, this is Z-175. Yua do you read me?"

The screen continued to show static and snow for a few moments before the vague image came through behind the static. "Hey! Ikros! What the hell man! You nearly gave me a heart attack with that stunt you pulled!"

Ikros chuckled and nodded, "Yeah uh, sorry about that."

Yua shook his head, the image clearing up to reveal his face, "It's fine. Where are you? When will you get back here?"

Ikros grit his teeth a bit as he scratched his cheek, a little nervous, "Well actually…there's a problem with that."

"Yeah?" Yua began, already not amused.

"Uh yeah…wouldn't you know it, after I made it through the junkyard I came into contact with a ship under attack. So I uh…took part in the battle."

"What!"

Ikros shrank a bit shaking his hands, "D-don't worry. The ship made it out ok and I'm here, so I'm fine too."

"Screw you!" She shouted suddenly and grabbed onto the camera to which Ikros felt a slight pang of hurt, "What about the Zaku!"

"Oh yeah, of course the Zaku's fine." Ikros responded, making sure to keep his eyes focused on Yua and not on the mobile suit, and the actual state it was in. He would not be able to hide his actual expression if he got a close look at it, headless and damaged.

"Oh good…" Yua responded with relief, before she perked up immediately. She gave a wide grin as she leaned closer to the camera again, "You saved an Earth Alliance ship then huh?"

"Uh yeah…"

"And you have all the data recorded from the battle I'm guessing right? Can you send it over to us? How'd it do?"

Ikros paused and stammered, not sure where to start or which question to answer first, "Yes. Yeah I can send you the data. It handled great in combat, no problems really."

Yua's smile widened, if that was possible, "That's wonderful! Ok, send us the data and then you and I will look it over when you get back here."

Again, Ikros froze for a few seconds, "Uh actually, the ship is Earth Alliance."

"Oh I know, just ask them to drop you off before they head to where they're going. Or after, if you want." Yua said nonchalantly, looking over a few pieces of paper along her desk.

"No, Yua…the ship's destination is Earth. I'm going to Earth." Ikros said cringing, waiting for an explosion of vocal noise and severe screaming, but receiving nothing more than a few tapping keyboards on the screen.

"Place your hand on the keyboard for a second."

"What?"

"Place. Your hand. On the keyboard." Yua stressed.

Ikros noticed a dangerous look in her eyes, "I don't really want to."

"Hand. Keyboard. Now!"

Ikros reached forward slowly, suddenly feeling an electric jolt shock his fingertips. He yelled as he grabbed hold of his hand and pulled away immediately. "How the hell did you-"

"You're going to Earth! We don't even know how the Zaku will handle Earth's gravity! And need I remind you that the Zaku is a secret prototype? Secret! How can we keep the project secret if you bring it to Earth, on an Earth Alliance ship I might add!"

Ikros opened his lips to begin to speak, only to shut up at the sight of her angry eyes, "never mind, please continue."

"You said so yourself that Tallberns Electronics is based on Earth. What if they come just to find out our secrets! Explain to me how this is a good idea."

Ikros sighed as he shrugged, "Look it's kinda out of my hands. I can't make it back to the station with the power levels I have. I was lucky to find these guys, and to help them out. Now they're helping me! I can then get this thing moved to a ZAFT base on Earth somewhere, ok? Hell, they might even let us test the mobile suit on the ground, that would be good for numbers too right?"

Yua remained silent, and Ikros began to notice a light pout appear on from her lips, or at least what he could see. The image was still nowhere near perfect. "I guess…that makes sense…"

Ikros sighed in relief as he nodded. Yua then looked straight at Ikros, "You'd better take care of yourself, and that mobile suit! Got it?"

"No problem Yua, I'll get it repaired the minute we land." He froze for a moment as he watched her reaction to his words. He placed his hand over his face as he watched her surprised glare before she started to type several commands onto her keyboard. "Now hang on Yua, you don't really want to-"

She screamed, crackling the speakers next to the computers sharply and causing Ikros to try and clear his popping his ears with his pinky. "What did you do to it!" Yua yelled as she grabbed the camera again, "What did you do to my Zaku! What did you do to the shield? Where the hell is its head! What the fu-"

Ikros sighed as he typed in the disconnect command as quickly as he was able. The screen turned off and he leaned against the wall for a few moments to regain his composure, and his sanity. A sudden beep appeared from the console he was in front of, and he nearly jumped away in shock. All he saw there, however, was the girl who he had spoken to earlier in order to make the call in the first place.

"Hello," She said with a light smile, "You seem a little tired."

Ikros nodded silently as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

"Well, I'm getting the call back from the person you called, a Dr. Yua? She'd like to speak with you immediately. Should I connect you?"

"Please don't." Ikros answered immediately, watching the girl's face become confused. He placed himself in front of the console and then lowered his head and half-bowed to the screen. "Please just…say anything. That the mission is too secret. Just…don't make me talk to her again, please. I'm begging you. Just tell her where we're going, disconnect and ignore all of her attempts to contact us."

"U-um…sure," she said still surprised and confused further, "well then, the Captain says you can take a rest in some of our quarters. We'll begin the re-entry process pretty soon. I'll let you know when we reach Carpenteria."

"Ah yes…thank you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Admiral Rabka!"

The admiral looked up from where he was sitting, relaxed with a folder in his hand and a cup of coffee next to him. He had seen many battles, and had earned his rank by surviving the grit and pain of every wound, lost soul under his command, and even lost son. Admiral Patton Rabka had seen a great deal of things at the age of 74, but he was still strong and he still knew how to command a ship in the heat of command. Still, at his age, he felt that a comfortable position as a base commander was a decent form of reward for his many victories and defeats. Though, every now and then, something exciting would come his way and serve to disturb the peace, but he rarely frowned at it. He gave a light smile as he dropped the file and looked up towards the sergeant who had run in, "Sergeant Walters, good to see you. How is your wife, Dana?"

"S-she's fine…sir!" The sergeant responded as he entered and saluted, still a bit surprised by the accurate memory of the old man. The last position Walters had, the Base Commander usually forgot he existed, much less remembered that he was married. "She's 6 months pregnant, sir!"

"Oh that's good!" The admiral remarked, "First child I imagine?"

"Yes sir!"

"Well then, we'll have to set you up with some time to be home and take care of her during the last month and the month after." The admiral said as he made a note in a notebook at his side, "Those two months are important for keeping a healthy marriage and for getting to know your child much better. I should know, you know."

The sergeant remained silent, shocked at first, "T-thank you Admiral. I'm…I'm sure Dana will be quite pleased to hear the news sir!"

"Good. Now, what was it you came in to tell me, sergeant?"

The sergeant stood at attention once more, "Yes sir! We've received word that both the VTOL transport and the space cargo ship have come under attack by unknown assailants, but that they've been able to separate from the battle and are on their way here now. They'll be arriving with escorts, sir!"

"Right then," the admiral said as he nodded, "Make sure to prepare our medical facilities and personnel. Try to contact the ships again and see if they need anything in specific. Also prepare rescue teams and repair crews just in case. Who's escorting them?"

The sergeant nearly paused in shock and awe, the Admiral had barely taken any time to think of what needed to be done, or prepared. Instead, Sergeant Walters continued the report, "The ZAFT VTOL transport is being escorted by a flight of four Orb Murasames. The Earth Alliance ship going through re-entry is currently being escorted by a ZAFT prototype."

The admiral barked a laugh, sitting back in his chair relaxed and smiling still, "Good. Make sure to have quarters and hangars prepared for each group. It's fine if the ZAFT pilot needs his own hangar, we've got plenty to go around anyways. Be sure to have people ready to repair each mobile suit as quick as they are able."

"Yes sir!" The sergeant said turning about and marching towards the door.

"Oh and Sergeant Walters?" The admiral called and the sergeant froze, hand almost at the doorknob before he looked over his shoulder.

"Yes sir?"

"Send Dana my congratulations when tell her you're going home."

"T-thank you sir, I will!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Wes walked out from the hangar, stretching his arms and placing them on his hips. Dressed up to his waist in his pilot jumpsuit, with the top-half unzipped and tied around his waist, and a simple black shirt over his chest, he drew no strange stares from anyone. No one knew any better even when Nina came up beside him, hooking her arm around his and hanging against him for a few moments.

Why would they? They were preoccupied with something else. "Look! Up there!" someone yelled and pointed towards a shining object falling across the sky leaving a trail of smoke behind it as it neared the ocean.

"Re-entry?" Wes whispered to himself as he placed his hand over his head to shield his eyes from the sun's glare.

"They finally made it." Nina stated calmly.

"Were we expecting some company?"

"Hmm…something like that." She smiled as she stepped away, picking up her labcoat inside before walking back out. "We'll have our work cut out for us pretty soon, you'd better suit back up."

In the next few minutes, both transports reached the Carpenteria base, one along the water and one through the air. Though there were several engineers prepared to begin repairs and start searching and rescuing any injured who might have been trapped under collapsed hulls or mountains of rubble, the sight was still unexpected when the space transport arrived through the water. Most wondered how it could remain afloat still.

Tears and torn bits of hull still attached to the main ship were lined with scorch marks caused by the beam and heat weapons used to tear through it. Other parts of the ship looked as if it had burst out from within, likely from weakened integrity of the hull being unable to withhold the inner pressure. Still, the engineers and the medics ran in from whatever entrance they could find.

Mobile suits and cargo were also brought out quickly, with most of the technicians still unsure as to whether the ship could continue to float over the water for much longer.

The VTOL landed roughly on the helicopter pad just beside the port, overlooking the transport ship. Though also lined with scorch marks and a few tears, the VTOL had made it out with lesser damages and only a smoking engine. The escorting Orb fighters flew over it in a loud roar, checking to ensure its safe landing and crew, before turning into the air traffic pattern and beginning to land on the runway.

"This things pretty beat up, pal!" someone yelled within the hangar, looking over the damaged mobile suit of the Zaku prototype, though it took him a bit to realize it was another version of a Zaku, what with its head being completely missing.

"Well I have faith that you can get this thing repaired," Ikros said as travelled down from the cockpit, hanging onto the wire attacked to the inside of the open cockpit. As he landed on the floor, he continued, "Just do me a favor and don't mess with the programming. It's not even finished yet."

"Right, right…" The technician said, "Oh wait." He called calmly and held up a plastic wrapped parcel he pulled from under his arm, "We got a request from ZAFT to set you up with one of these."

Ikros grabbed the parcel and looked over it, his eyes widening a bit as he saw the green and white of a regular ZAFT soldier and pilot. He looked up at the technician, who gave him a light salute, "Welcome to the ZAFT military, sir."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Trent let out a breath as he pulled his head out from under the damp helmet he had been wearing for a few hours. He rubbed his head as he looked back up at the Murasame, and then stepped away to allow the Earth Alliance technicians to begin the maintenance and repair work that Carpenteria had promised them.

He felt tired and worn out, and only just began to realize that what he had just survived had been his first combat experience. A slap on the back regained his attention and composure as Mack walked past him, "Good flying out there, Trent. You can have my back any day."

"Uh…thanks." Trent answered, scratching the back of his head lightly.

"He's serious kid," Trent heard behind him and turned to face the second speaker, his Captain, "You held your own against a strong enemy. Keep up the good work and you'll bring that enemy down next time."

Trent gave a light smile to Mwu before shaking his head, "I doubt that. I get the feeling she was more skilled than she let on."

"She?" Mwu asked with a raised eyebrow as they followed the other pilots out of the hangar.

"Oh," Trent paused for a moment but shook his head, he had already said too much to hide it anymore, "She opened a communication link with my suit. Just to compliment me."

Mwu nodded his head silently, "Well that just happens to be a lesson you've learned a little early then."

"Sir?" Trent asked as he followed after Mwu's footsteps.

"There are no faceless pilots. No unknown enemies. Everyone has a name, a history and a friend."

Trent had no answer, and he hoped that the Captain had not expected one. "It's fine Trent," Mwu said turning around and grinning wide, "Answers don't come instantly. Just…stay alive for now."

"Yes Captain!" Trent shouted as they walked out and under the sun. "I sure hope we can take a decent break before we need to head out."

"Hey!" A technician yelled from the distance, "More mobile suits are on their way. Get the next repair crews ready to receive them!" The reaction was instant as many of the off-duty men and women started to run towards the shore, different colored uniforms mixing together as they shared jeeps and carried supplies. For Trent, it was a heartwarming sight.

He turned to see if Captain Mwu felt the same way, instead the Captain looked pensive, "I don't remember there being a third group coming this way…"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Several stories below the ground at Carpenteria, Nina stood in her labcoat, calmly looking up at one of the newly acquired mobile suits from the transports. A pure white suit, shadowed only by the weak lighting inside the hangar. "Who will you bring Ragnarok to…?" She asked it, but only received silence in return.

Then, the base rumbled and shook as a groaning noise impacted up above…

REVAMPED!


	2. The Threat

Second Chapter Revamped

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Corporal Alfonse felt his head shake as he pushed himself up from the ground. Why was he on the ground? And why were his ears ringing? His eyesight was a bit fuzzy, likely from the shock of…something.

He looked up a bit, eyeing his own hands and then turning them over to see his palms, somewhat cut up and bleeding lightly. What had happened? He thought to himself as quickly as he could. He had been a new addition to the ZAFT repair team at the 12th port and had been working for over a week now. He had made friends with his group and with a particular girl, though her and his uniform tended to clash according to the rest of his team.

Enza, Sergeant Enza. She outranked him, but he had not minded. And from what he could see, she did not mind flirting with him every so often.

He shook his head, he had gone too far back.

There had been a call for more technicians. He remembered because it had interrupted his opportunity to finally ask Enza out for coffee during their next leave. He joined the next oncoming jeep filled with ZAFT technicians and watched as Enza filled the last empty seat. It had already been a joint effort; no one really minded the extra help at all.

They reached the port early, and quickly began to set up in order to run into the ship and start working as quickly as possible. Alfonse felt…trepidation, though he did not know why. It was a beautiful day, and there had been nothing to worry over even though they had been focused on repair and rescue missions.

Then, a loud noise shook him externally, and heat surrounded him and filled the air while he was pushed to the ground hard. He blacked out, for only a moment, and then woke up to the current situation he was in. He turned his head from side to side, trying to regain his bearings.

The beautiful day was gone already, now filled with smoke and flames pillaring towards the sky and turning it into a sinister looking dark and murky orange. Mobile suits began to land, suits with color schemes that he did not recognize. He looked around suddenly, with wide eyes.

The jeep that had brought him, his team and Enza was gone. Rather, it was blown to smithereens. Bits and pieces of it were scattered across the ground and a popped tire laid next to some smoking remains. He was too scared to see if anyone was still in it, he remembered that the team leader had driven them there and then stayed in the car. He could not be sure that he would recognize any remains even if he had found any.

He searched farther around, finding a tattered blue and white uniform for the Earth Alliance forces on the body of a beaten female Sergeant. From there, he ran to Enza's position, or rather he tried to. He hissed as he put pressure on his right leg, feeling it give out suddenly. It was likely broken.

He pushed himself back up and limped the rest of the way over to her still body. Kneeling down next to her, he placed a hand on her smooth neck, trying to focus enough through the pain and his blurry vision to remember proper first aid. He could not think farther ahead than that, he did not even realize he lacked a proper first aid kit.

He sighed as he pulled his hand away slowly, feeling no pulse at her vein and seeing no blush of life along her cheeks. His knees were beginning to soak in the blood that had pooled around her, as his vision began to blur again. It was terrible, and sudden. And he could not even begin to mourn as the comms whined, coming online suddenly, "We're under attack! General quarters!" it blared out, "All personnel, get to your combat stations!"

He could feel the flames burning close to him, and could feel the ground tremble as what he believed to be Mobile Suits shadowed him and passed him, ignoring the beaten soldier who had not even raised a weapon at them. Who had been caught off guard with the rest of his crew, his comrades, and had been one of the luckiest and one of the unluckiest ones. Lucky to survive. Unlucky to be the last one left, only to mourn.

"Hey!"

Someone shouted over the sound of gunfire and death in the distance, to which Alfonse looked up quickly. He searched the area around him, watched as a single arm waved from behind the back of an overturned vehicle, another jeep that likely came from the same direction as his group. He ran, or tried to, limping his way towards the arm and ignoring the pain as much as he could. "Get me out of here!" the voice yelled as Alfonse reached around.

The sight his eyes greeted when he rounded the corner put him to a sudden halt as he stared for a few moments. The man, in a Earth Alliance uniform with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes and an Ensign's rank on his shoulder, was lying down on his stomach. Part of his left leg was pinned to the ground by the overturned jeep, and blood had already seeped around it, but more importantly, his right arm was completely missing. What remained was a bloody stump that Alfonse immediately felt sick looking at, and turned away for a few seconds.

"Damnit soldier! Help me out of here!" The Ensign yelled and Alfonse took in a deep breath as he turned round and looked down at the sight of the leg, focusing on that to keep his mind on the other disgusting pieces.

"I…" He stuttered as he realized the gravity of the situation, the jeep itself was mostly intact and was likely leaking fuel. But it was far more likely that the soldier was running out of blood faster than that, "I can't pick this up myself…"

The soldier nodded as he looked over his shoulder, "That'd be nice if you could but I didn't expect you to. See if you can find a laser cutter!"

Alfonse looked surprised as he said this, "A…a what?"

"A laser cutter! You're part of the engineers and mechanics aren't you, don't you have one or know where to find one?"

Alfonse nodded, his mind getting a better grasp at his immediate surroundings and the pain he himself was experiencing. His leg hurt, but he felt like his face was scalding too, almost numb but still painful. At the least, he ignored it as he limped over to the remains of another engineer, a metal toolkit lying intact next to him. The smell of burnt fabric and flesh hit him suddenly, but he bit down the bile as he dragged the kit over to the lying form of the excitable Earth Alliance fighter.

Alfonse opened it quickly and pulled out a small handle-looking tool. A switch was easily felt within his palm, and he pointed the tool towards the ground as he started it for only a second, burning a small hole into the asphalt from a thin and red hot beam emanating from one side fo the handle. "Good, it works. Now what?"

The ensign looked up at Alfonse with pause, "N-now what? You cut off my leg, now what! Are you joking? We don't have time for this!"

"C-cut off…I can't cut off your leg!"

"We don't have time for this. The laser cutter will cauterize the wound, and then you can help me get into a weapon. Now cut through my leg before something steps on us!"

Alfonse felt no desire to continue through with the procedure. He had no idea what could go wrong, or if the soldier could handle the shock of the, likely, intense pain. Though he did realize that the man had already lost most of his arm. He nodded, beginning to realize that leaving the area was in their best interest for survival, and prepared himself. He aimed the laser cutter down towards the left leg. At the last second, he paused, unable to turn the cutter on, almost as if a soldier froze just before pulling the trigger of a gun.

"What are you waiting for damnit!"

His hand shifted, turning the beam on as Alfonse let out a yell of frustration. The bloodcurling scream of another man followed shortly after.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The shaking had shocked most of the off-duty pilots, but they regained their footing with a little push from their commanding officer. Wes ran along the hangars, shouting at anyone who did not seem to have a job to do, "Get to your stations! The base is a combat zone, so act like it!" He yelled at one such soldier with a lost look in his eyes. He stood straight right-quick and sprinted towards a hangar. Wes turned into another hangar, hoping he had at least saved the life of one soldier with that act.

He glanced over at his Windam, jogging over and grabbing onto the wire hanging from the open cockpit. He gave it a tug and held on tight as it began to pull him up. "Wait Commander," a mechanic yelled from below, "we haven't maintained the Windam yet. You won't have full power."

"Then I'll just have to make due! The enemy won't wait, now open the hangar doors for all pilots." Wes yelled below as he reached the cockpit and looked over as the large hangar doors began to slide open from someone's push of a button. He looked down at the mechanic once more, "Everyone who can fight, must fight. Send that message to any areas that don't have the intercoms working!"

He took his seat as the cockpit closed, and pushed his feet against the pedals. "This is Last Hope Leader, I'm ready to move out. Com tower, any instructions?"

The radio returned with static for a few moments before a male voice, fast-paced and frightened, called through, "Is someone actually on the com? Uh…Last Hope Leader…Emergency take off procedures granted. J-just get out and do what you can to push away the enemy."

Wes blinked his eyes as the hangar doors opened fully, and the Windam began to step out from within. He made sure to grab a beam rifle and a shield on the way, "Come on Tower, we need you to keep it together. Point us to the enemy!"

"We've received attacks and infiltration from the Northwestern coast…ah, our defensive forces are pinned and outnumbered. We're barely holding together with the rest of Last Hope commanding our forces on the ground."

"What? Who's commanding Last Hope?"

"Ah…uh 1st Lieutenant Badgirel seems to be doing so, sir."

Wes nodded quickly, "I see. Who else is in that area?" His Windam walked around the corner of the opening, weapon ready and making sure he was clear of any enemies and any mechanics along the ground. With a burst of heat from the mobile suits back, Wes flew hovered a bit from the ground before flying higher into the air.

"The 3rd and 5th Defensive Mobile Squadrons are fighting and everyone else is either mobilizing or incommunicado. We're still trying to get a full report on the situation."

"Fine, keep me up to date!" Wes said as targets immediatey came into his view. There were many to choose from as a squad of four Buster Daggers wide bursts of beam cannon fire in the air, hoping to pick off the nimble Windam in the air. Wes reacted quickly, weaving among the incoming attacks while aiming the barrel of his rifle down at an enemy and pulling the trigger quickly and easily, driving a laser straight through the chest armor of the enemy mobiles suit.

The Dagger detonated between the squadron of mobile suits, pushing them apart. "You're not strong enough to fight me!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ensign Yucker! You don't have the authority to use the Mark II Zaku, please come back!"

"Are you joking? You're still repairing my mobile suit, and I'm not dying without a fight!" Ikros yelled into the coms. He pushed the green Zaku out from behind cover, aiming the machine gun down and firing a volley of high speed bullets, some of which pierced a bit of the armor along the body of an enemy Windam. "How am I supposed to tell the difference between our guys and theirs, this is ridiculous!"

"Don't worry, we've updated the IFF signatures. Red bad guys and green good guys, even the actual Earth Forces members."

" Well then where the hell are the greens?" Ikros yelled again, firing another volley down road between buildings as Strike Daggers jumped, firing short beam rifles at him. A blast struck his shield as Ikros ducked down in a lagged reaction, and then pulled back to dodge the rest.

"Keep calm, we're routing some active mobile suits your way. They'll be there soon."

"Soon is not soon enough." Ikros said, his eyes darting into a hangar as he watched several ground soldiers and mechanics, some armed with guns and rocket launchers but all looking nervous. "I can't move from this position!"

Ikros turned around again, firing his gun at the shielded Windams. Metal rounds lightly dented and bounced off the thick armor plating as the mobile suits inched closer, firing rapidly. "Damnit, I knew this peashooter wouldn't work long enough." He said as he tossed it towards the ground in front of him. The camera on the Zaku looked to the side, focusing on the mechanics as its hand reached and grabbed something at its belt. "Get down," Ikros yelled on an external loudspeaker attached to the mobile suit as he turned the corner and tossed two large objects through the air.

The two objects, metal spheres blinked and suddenly sparked as they blew up in a cloud of dust, fire and light in front of the incoming Windams. A blinding light flashed, causing most of the screens in the cockpits of the enemy pilots to buzz and turn to static for a few simple seconds. As it cleared up, the view of an enclosing dark green Zaku filled the screen with its heat axe out.

The enemy pilot screamed as the Zaku pulled its arm back and slammed the axe into the enemy's cockpit, watching as the screen and the armor melted. The axe burned through finally, and the pilots eyes saw orange and felt heat and finally pain.

The Windam fell and hit the ground in two pieces, but Ikros had already turned and dug his axe into the side of the next Windam a few steps behind the first. This time the weapon pushed in only half-way before the heat from the axe caused a larger explosion and forced the axe back out of the Windam, while the limp piece of burning steel fell against the nearest building, denting the metallic walls.

Again, Ikros pushed farther forward, only to finally have his momentum come to a halt as the third Windam had his beam saber pulled out, already prepared for the combat tactic. Ikros swore as he swerved his shield around to meet with the wild attack, and felt the entire suit shudder as he succeeded, and then tried to go for a killing strike once more.

A blast of red light cut through the air, barely missing the side of the Zaku's head, and Ikros pulled away quickly, boosting behind a building as a volley laser fire followed behind. "Well, I can't try that trick again…" Ikros whispered to himself. "Come on control! 'Soon' just passed into 'not soon enough!'"

A Windam pulled around the corner, rifle aimed straight at Ikros forcing him to defend himself first before attacking, maybe he could do something if he survived the first blast. A bright flash of light blanketed the area as a red beam cut through the enemy mobile suit in front of Ikros' very eyes, dragging a trench along the ground. The Windam exploded very quickly, and Ikros dared a glance up to see where the shot had fired from.

Two orange, yellow and white fighters blurred over Ikros' head. Then suddenly, a red, white and blue mobile suit followed and stopped, a gold V-shaped crown on its forehead. It dropped down behind a building, across from which Ikros stood.

"Ensign Ikros," came the voice of an older man, followed by a small camera screen focusing on the face of a white-haired and wrinkled old man, with a caption in the lower corner stating 'Captain Rayce.' "You might as well use this until we can find you a better weapon."

The Gundam, fitted with a large beam rifle and a black booster backpack with four black and red wings, then pulled a smallish rifle from its waist and tossed it over to the Zaku, which caught it and quickly looked over it. "It's a battery-powered mini-rifle. Shots are limited and aren't that powerful, but you'll have to deal with it."

Ikros nodded within the cockpit as he piloted the Zaku to gain a better grip on the weapon. "Now let's move out." Captain Rayce ordered, "the defense force will handle the rest here, follow me."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Those aces from yesterday are back again!" Bitson yelled from his position, aiming his rifle towards the sky and firing several beam shots at fast moving targets. "Damn they're fast, Trent! Help me out!"

Trent remained silent as he tracked the Onyx Zaku and the Crimson Windam across the sky. Indeed they moved fast, faster than the computer could handle by itself. He swore under his breath as he absently flicked a switch and pushed the mobiles suit to jump back and dodge a shot fired at him. The auto-targeting switched off, and Trent could feel the mobile suit move a bit heavily against his controls. But it moved faster, with more sensitivity.

He narrowed his eyes, and the Murasame continued to aim. Another shot came down as the Windam, the girl from before, fired on him and cut across the ground. But Trent made no move, and continued to aim steadily, his screen zoomed in on the moving Zaku. It wavered from side to side, firing at other enemies around it on the ground, it suddenly stopped and hovered for a moment.

Inside the cockpit, Warec looked around at the enemies firing wildly from the ground. "This place is pathetic," he whispered, "cocky coordinators and weak naturals, all together like some group of tree-hugging fools." He aimed downwards as he noted one of the targets changing its aim slightly, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The attack was short but, from above, delivered enough to puncture the chest and spark an explosion, incinerating the pilot instantly.

He pulled back, moving out of the way of an accurate shooter, he would need to finish that one next. As he backed away, however, he shook in the cockpit as a beam of light began to cut in from behind, melting through the boosters on his back. "Shit!" He yelled as he began to fall, with barely any propulsion to keep him in the air. He pressed against the pedals, orienting himself until he fired the boosters as the soles of the Zaku's feet. Another shot came close to him, nearly cutting through his shoulder if not for Warec's pushing himself through the air and then landing roughly along the ground.

He looked through the screen quickly, anger in his eyes as he called out, "Who was that! Who was it that shot me!"

Back in the Murasame, Trent pulled on the collar of his uniform, trying to let a bit more air into his suit as he switched the auto targeting back on. "Nice hit kid!" A voice said through the radio as a blue and white Windam passed overhead, "Now help me take care of that other one!"

"She's too fast!" Trent yelled as he focused on the Crimson Windam, "we won't have a chance unless we get in close."

"Then we'll just have to bring the fight to her, you with me?" Wes asked from his position in the Windam, to which Trent nodded immediately and pushed forward on the throttle. The Murasame jumped up and boosted away from the ground, reaching just over the buildings as Wes continued, "All right, we'll need to at least slow the enemy down and…Shit! Look out!"

Trent barely had enough time to react as another mobile suit, the black colored Zaku, suddenly appeared and slammed its shoulder against Trent's Murasame. The strike from the spiked shoulder stabbed and punctured through the Murasame's left shoulder. Trent felt the cockpit shake, with the screen blinking into static. "Where the hell!"

The Murasame flew farther as the Zaku pushed its legs up and kicked Trent away. The asphalt ground tore up as the mobile suit dug a trench through the momentum of the tackle. Trent felt his head begin to spin from the amount of shaking that would have sent his body in all directions, which would have broken many of his bones if it were not for the straps securely holding him in place.

He groaned groggily for a few moments, before the ground shook a bit and sparks emitted themselves from a crack in the screen next to him. "Damn…" He groaned as he focused his attention to the screens that worked, and watched as it began to partition itself to compensate for the lost viewer.

"Hey! Are you all right?" Wes shouted, looking back down to the buildings, trying to find the black Zaku that had attacked earlier. The Zaku had disappeared however, likely crouching behind buildings. "Hey kid! Come on, answer me!"

"I-I'm fine." Trent answered, with a hand over his helmeted head. "Where did the enemy go?"

"He's disappeared," Wes answered and landed, looking up into the sky and noticed it to be empty of the red Windam. The firing had ceased as well, "they've all disappeared from this sector."

Wes reached out with his mobile suit, and grabbed onto the Murasame. He pulled the mobile suit up onto its feet, "There you go, steady there. How is the damage to your shoulder?"

"The shield arm is completely unresponsive. But there's no time to get it repaired…"

"Control tower to Commander Baxter," the radio sounded within the Wes' cockpit, "please respond!"

"Calm down control tower, I'm a little busy at the moment."

"This is an urgent message. The enemy has begun to converge towards a specific location in sector three. All units are ordered to detach from any current areas, regardless of their condition, and engage enemy forces in this area. Commander Baxter, can you confirm your orders?"

"What the? Why are they at Sector three?"

"Commander Baxter, please confirm your orders!"

"Yes, fine! I'll move out immediately." Wes half-shouted with a strained voice as he looked over to the damaged Murasame with a bit of disdain and pity. "All right kid, it looks like you're gonna have to suck it up a bit. Can you still fly?"

Trent looked over the diagnostics and nodded his head. "Most of the damage is on the surface," he answered in a calculated voice, "The only disability is the shield arm and the transformation, as a result. But I'm still combat capable."

"Alright, noted. Keep up with me and I'll keep you covered."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"This is Last Hope two," James panted into the radio as beams and bullets riddled the ruined building his Windam crouched behind, "the enemy has cut through the steel doors within sector three and have infiltrated the lower levels of the base. Several enemy units are still above ground and have pinned down what units we have in the area, we need reinforcements. Can anyone respond quickly?"

An entire chunk of steel and concrete suddenly exploded over the shoulder of the mobile suit, coming off of the already structurally weak building. James had the Windam reach around the corner and blindly fire the beam-rifle towards the enemy. In response, the building began to receive more punishment within that specific side as James pulled away and boosted over the ruins of several buildings, trying to find a decent place to attack and defend from.

More shots followed after the Windam, forcing James to land quickly and raise his shield as he tried to defend himself. "This is Last Hope two, I cannot hold the rest of these forces back by myself. I need more men, can anybody respond!"

"What are you doing separated from the squadron kid?" Zak's confident face came onto the screen as the Impulse Gundam landed on top of a building and fired three shots at three different enemy mobile suits. "Last Hope was worried when the enemy's cheap maneuver succeeded in separating them from their current commander."

"Yes yes, it was very obvious what they were doing. I'm very sorry, sir." James felt a bit of bitterness on his tongue. He resisted making another comment as a shot suddenly impacted his shield, and shook the mobile suit down to the cockpit. "We can discuss my failings in tactics later, as long as I'm still alive. Now, do you mind?"

Two Strike Daggers fired repeatedly at the new enemy, until a blurring green Zaku landed on the ground next to them, and charged into the first one, using its spiked right shoulder to impale itself into the cockpit of the first. But Ikros did not stop as he continued to push the Strike Dagger forward with his mobile suit, running into the second enemy mobile suit and slamming them both into the ground. He pulled away and without a second though, pulled out the variable heat axe and slammed it through the waist of both enemy suits.

"Damn coordinators," Zak said into the radio, though only James could hear it, "always looking to show off in blood."

"What?" James looked at the screen of Captain, only to find that it had disconnected and the Impulse was already charging towards the firefight surrounding the entrance point to the underground levels of the base.

"Sorry we're late," came another voice as Wes' face filled part of the screen, "Traffic was a little heavy out there." The other Windam landed and slammed against a part of a collapsed building, "Last Hope two, give me a sitrep."

"Sir!" James shouted as he moved his Windam forward and stood back to back with Wes, looking over each corner of the forsaken building, hoping to see no enemies at least for now. He failed to notice an injured Murasame behind another piece of rubble. "Three enemy units have entered the underground levels, and we've been trying to secure the entry point, but we've been unsuccessful. The enemy continued to ambush our attempts to flank, and I was separated from the rest of the unit…"

"Doesn't sound like you James." Wes noted as he looked around the wall, drawing a bead on an unsuspecting enemy unit, and firing a shot Wes felt to be a bit too easy.

"Yes sir. I…fell for their tactical retreat…they had another squadron cut me off as I pulled away too far."

"Right, well as of right now, we can't get back together with the main force with hidden enemies…" Wes whispered as he looked over at the entire group, seeing the green Zaku, the injured Murasame and Zak's Impulse. "We'll just have to clear out those ambushers."

"What?"

"Trent, Zak, listen close."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Enemy forces moving within range." Whispered a pilot, hiding his mobile suit under the shadow of a hangar wall, barely standing after the concrete building next to it collapsed all over it. But it held, and left the mobile suit with a decent hiding position. The way the steel hangar wall buckled under the weight allowed for the Strike Dagger to hold its rifle partially through a tiny opening. Enough for the camera to spot mobile suits moving between buildings, unable to hide themselves from windows on buildings where the other walls had fallen apart.

"Understood," someone else answered a bit more confidently and aware that whispering meant very little within the mobile suits, "wait for my signal once they pass by." The anxious pilot waited. So far, they had succeeded in their attack with only a few minor problems, but even so the pilot had already seen two comrades within his squad obliterated in an orange glow of heat and fuel. He had little time to consider the definition of a successful attack, as he caught another visual sighting of the mobile suits. He lowered his power level a great deal, hiding from even the weak radar network many mobile suits had, and simply waited.

The ground shook a bit with each step from the mobile suits, walking almost casually between the rubble. "Target in range." The pilot whispered with sweat running along his chin.

Several seconds passed with no response on the Comms. The pilot felt his finger twitch as he continued to wait, the mobile suit had passed a bit but he still had a clear shot at its torso. He would be able to shoot once before being forced to power up his systems and recharge the beam rifle.

The mobile suit came to a stop suddenly, turning its head as it looked around. But it never raised its weapon or its shield. A burst of pink light came down from the sky, forcing the pilot to turn and look up to see what had caused it. He did not notice, but the mobile suit turned as well and raised its shield as another blast of light drew sparks against the protective surface.

"Earth Alliance forces are attacking the mobile suit! Is it one of ours?"

"Fire on the one in the sky!" Another one yelled as the buildings on the ground began to litter with sources of light and beam rifles.

Just as quickly as they appeared, they began to crumple to the ground, large holes appearing along their waist and torso. "What the? Are we under attack?" One of the Strike Dagger pilots looked around stupidly, before the Windam they had all wondered to be a friend slashed through the waist and left it in pieces.

They tried to reform and retreat at the same time, splitting down the middle as they ran or flew in different directions. The two Windams remained where they were, with one quickly landing on the ground. At first, they thought they were free from the danger. They never saw the sniper taking shots at them from behind a building. Or the Zaku that aimed its beam cannon directly in their path. Or the Gundam that flew behind them, hiding within the shadows.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Wes and James let the rest of the pilots handle the retreating forces, while they continued onto their own destination. What they found did not give them confidence.

Combat had spread out around a pair of blast doors set up diagonally against the side of a building. The building itself was short in height, though several times longer in length, but what many soldiers did not realize was the sheer depth to which that building reached. Wes could already tell that the enemy had realized this somehow, the large hole in the blast doors confirmed it.

Several Strike Daggers fired on any oncoming enemies from fixed position behind piles of rubble outside of the door. At the same time, several Buster Daggers fired from within the hole in the door itself. The ground itself was covered in scorch marks, some from missed shots from a weapon, others from those shots hitting with perfect accuracy.

Wes watched as his squadron, Last Hope squadron, fired from whatever position they could find behind the remains of a mobile suit husk, or a simple sheet of metal. He watched in sadness as one of his fellow Windams suddenly took a blast to the torso from a Buster Dagger's beam cannon. The explosion obliterated it completely, but his computer recognized the IFF and the pilot within before it labeled it KIA in dark red letters.

"Mike! Shit!" Wes yelled in frustration, though he did not have time to mourn as he took cover behind a toppled pile of steel beams and fired from around the side of it. His shots hit the mark eventually, when a Buster Dagger popped out to try and find another target. Instead, it exploded in a flash of flames. Still, Wes did not feel much better.

"Last Hope!" James yelled from the other side of the steel beam pile, "Report!"

Reallia responded, her face covered in static as the signal from her mobile suit fluctuated. "We're outnumbered James! We can't keep this up, we've lost most of the squadron already, and other divisions have almost been completely wiped out!"

"Then we wait," Wes said calmly, "Regroup our forces and take position wherever it's possible. Fire back only in response."

"Commander?" James asked, not entirely sure what waiting could bring.

"We can't stop them from getting whatever they might be looking for, especially if we don't know what it is. Best we can do is wait, and let'em have it when they come back. We'll be all right!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

By this time, the attack on Carpenteria had reached several locations, including the Orb Union. Captain La Fllaga had been forced to wait for an official response from the home country. In truth, it was supposed to be the entire squadron that was grounded until news came from Orb, but Mwu decided the circumstances called for a bit of impatience. "It's not like we can avoid fighting just by staying on the ground anyways…" He whispered to himself.

Suddenly, a blonde-haired young woman appeared on the screen of the console he had been standing next to for the past 5 to 10 agonizing minutes. "Ah! Mrs. Zala" Mwu started with a bright smile on his face.

"Don't start. Just tell me what the situation is." Cagalli responded with a droll look on her, strangely, red face.

Mwu noticed quickly, along with the fact that he had been waiting for a response from Athrun and not the princess, "Did the baby kick or something? You know, I remember Murrue's first baby too-"

"Just report!"

"Screwed. The Base has been on alert the whole time, but it didn't stop the attack from happening. We need orders, ma'am."

Before Cagalli could respond, a blue-haired figure moved from the side of the screen and gently pushed Cagalli aside, "You're orders are to assist the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces. The current danger can overturn our usual neutrality, and I doubt this is an attack from an official source."

"Terrorists, sir?"

"Maybe, we're still looking into it and checking contacts. Keep them all safe."

"I understand."

"If any problems arise, send me a call. I'll head over in Justice."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Within a small circular room with a similarly shaped line of desks, several people sat silently in the dim lighting, watching short images of a conflict occurring far from their borders in space. "The attack is continuing then?"

"Yes ma'am, and we don't know how much longer it will last."

"Thank you, dismissed," said the voice from the center most location. A desk separate from the semi-circular seating that everyone else was positioned in. The Soldier that had been under a spotlight for a small while quickly saluted and turned about before leaving the council chambers with the large "ZAFT" emblem painted on the sliding door.

"This leaves me with a bad feeling, and we do have soldiers of our own there. Shouldn't we act?"

"Councilor Joule, I'm afraid we do not know whom we would be acting against. Nor do we know of their motives."

"I agree Councilor Clyne, that patience is needed. However, I believe there is a possible motive that we can discern for ourselves."

"Councilor Elsman, please explain yourself."

The aging man with very few stripes of white hair showing across his natural blonde, stood up from his seat and waited for the lights to focus on him. He pressed a few keys on his monitor and watched as a holographic projection of a blueprint appeared before them all. " I have been informed that the attacking mobile suits have successfully infiltrated the lower levels of the base itself. They are looking for something, though I'm not certain as to what that might be."

"Are you so certain Tad?" responded a cold and blunt female voice, Miss Joule, "Carpenteria was once a ZAFT base. We still have soldiers stationed there alongside the Earth Alliance. How can we not have an idea?"

"The Earth Alliance, Orb and other organizations have been sending separate projects to the base. We know nothing of the other projects, and those that have come from ZAFT have been private and kept as classified as possible."

Lacus stood up slowly, "We should then find more information about these projects. From here and on Earth."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Well Yzak, what's the news?"

Yzak turned, brushing some of his platinum white hair from his face to look at his old friend, Dearka. The tan blonde casually walked up in his white Captain's uniform, a relatively new rank for the former Gundam pilot.

"Carpenteria is under attack. It's been fighting off an unknown enemy for a little more than half an hour. We're being sent to investigate the matter."

"Us?" Dearka said, his violet eyes wide in surprise.

Yzak nodded with a stern expression, "It's not a mission that I enjoy either. But Councilor Clyne has ordered it, and the rest of the Council agrees."

"So, they want us to be more diplomatic then?"

Yzak nodded slowly, "We won't be able to reach the battle no matter what we do. But we can try to learn about the situation and offer any help."

"And the extra?" Dearka asked, recalling that there was a third cruiser docked to the space station.

"Captain Menla Yucker and her ship, the Shogun. She's waiting for us in her ship, it'd be best if we started moving."

"No time to rest huh?" Dearka said with a shrug as he followed after Yzak's hurried march.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The base shook as an explosion rocked burst through the roof of the gate leading to the subsurface levels. "There! That's them!" Wes shouted as he watched the three Ace mobile suits burst through and away.

"They flew out the back way!" Reallia yelled, "They're heading west, back towards the ocean."

"Came to get what they needed and now they're running away?" Wes navigated his Windam to hover in the air for a moment and then boosted up into the sky, following after the three Aces.

In a sudden move, the black Zaku turned around and pointed a long contraption attached to its left arm. It was shaped like a lopsided diamond, with one side running from the length of the Zaku's arm from the hand and up past the elbow. The second half of the diamond was shorter, running the rest of the arm and just past the shoulder. Just below the shield, Wes could see three separate nozzles and watched as they suddenly lit up. "Wes! Watch out!"

Without a second to spare, Wes brought up his shield arm higher and boosted to the side, trying to dodge as three large sphere projectiles came at him at a speed he could barely fathom. The Windam shook as an explosion sent Wes flying uncontrollably to the side.

On the ground, the rest of the Last Hope squadron watched as their Commanding Officer spun out of control, and then watched as the lab building exploded in a thunderous roar that obliterated the entirety of the building. "Damnit!" James yelled, "Weren't their forces still in there?"

Up in the sky, the three Aces were having a conversation about the same thing. "Warec, what was the point of that?" Ren yelled as she piloted her Strike around the black Zaku.

"Just felt the need to test out my new weapon. No one's gonna miss those little punks anyways." Warec said with surprise. To be honest, he had never seen such power from a simple mobile suit weapon. The test had given him more than he had expected.

"Damnit Warec! Now we have no choice but to call a full retreat!"

"Are you kidding? We can handle the rest of these fools without a single problem." Warec said, having already loaded the next three rounds. He froze as warning lights came on, and several beams of light heated the air as it cut between the three mobile suits. They came from a number of incoming mobile suits: a green Zaku and a Gundam.

Beka laughed then, "Looks like we're more than outnumbered…they're actually sending some powerful people our way." She turned, aiming her beam rifle directly at Warec's cockpit, "Either you listen to Rena, or you're just about as useful as all those men you just killed Warec. Be a good boy…"

Warec grimaced as he faced the rifle. He could not possibly dodge it at this distance. "Fine…" He whispered, "Lead the way."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The battle ended anti-climactically and silently. Wes woke up to see the three Ace mobile suits flying away at their maximum speed, with many other mobile suits following closely behind them.

He swore under his breath as he tried the controls to his suit, and found that nothing responded. It did not take long after he tried for the mobile suit to shut down completely. "Just great…" Wes whispered as he pressed the switch to open the cockpit door, with no reaction at all.

He opened a panel hidden behind a moveable console, and opened the panel and grabbed hold of a crank inside of it. With each twist, the cockpit door began to open slowly with each twist of the crank. The smell of smoke and dust hit his senses in a sudden wave, and there was another metallic smell that he feared would be the sick scent of blood.

He shook his head, what mattered was that he at least escaped from the deathtrap of his mobile suit. Once outside, he got a good view of the smoky sky and the scorched ground. Finally, he looked back at his own mobile suit, and nearly fell over in shock at the husk he saw.

The armor looked brittle, as if it had been worn down from ages of disrepair. More so than that, the entire left arm was completely missing and the shield itself was nowhere to be seen. But there was a single sight, more frightening and more shocking than the state his Windam had become.

Behind the mobile suit, where the lab, the building with the giant double gates, had stood was nothing more than three craters with flames and smoke billowing into the air around the center of each one.

He finally whispered, "What the hell did we get hit with?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

-Hawk Strife


	3. Old Heroes

OK so here's the third chapter. Thanks to Vampwriter, the only person I've SEEN review so far…anyhow, I'll do my best to use your suggestions, of course it does take me a while to start using them for some reason. Any other suggestions or reviews of any style are permitted….please?

In Plants a new discussion was arising inside of the council chambers. "Information given to us tells us that this group is not affiliated with Zaft, Orb, or Earth Alliance."

Councilor Elsman then asked "Is it possible that they're part of Blue Cosmos?" Lacus sighed, "Possibly, Djibril's death won't simply stop anti-coordinator thinking." "Then we need to come up with a plant!" "We will not affect the innocent of Earth; we cannot do such a thing!"

Minutes later, the council chambers were emptied and Lacus Clyne was the last to leave. She walked out and was surprised to see a short-brown haired young man waiting for her. "Kira!" She squealed as she ran into the young man's arms.

"You didn't tell me you'd be here." "I wanted to surprise you." Kira smiled and Lacus smiled back, Kira then asked, "How was the meeting?"

Lacus sighed, "Well the attack on Carpenteria has finally ended, and we've sent a few of our people to investigate." "Well, do you think...that I-" "No chance!"

Kira looked wide-eyed at the normally quiet pink-haired beauty, "You're not going down there, I won't let you!" Kira smiled at the serious expression that Lacus wore on her face.

"Lacus, I'm not going to get hurt..." "But we're going to be married...soon even!" Kira laughed, he knew that he would have to deal with the long wait at some point.

"I don't want you to go, just wait for a while. They don't need you at the moment..." Kira sighed; Lacus was desperate, trying to keep her fiancé from disappearing. "Yzak and Dearka can't keep it together all by themselves." Lacus smiled, "Oh well then, I'll tell them you said that when they come back."

Kira laughed, and Lacus merely walked towards her car. "Hey wait! You're joking right?"

"ATHRUN!" "aw crud" Cagalli Athna was bulging at 6 months, they guessed that there was something different about this baby however the soon-to-be parents did not want anymore doctors appointments; that is to say, Cagalli didn't want anymore doctors appointments.

Now however, Athrun had to go out and help his friends, and Cagalli was not happy. Athurn turned around to see Cagalli walking quickly with a bulge in her belly, "Cagalli, you should be resting, you have a meeting tomorrow." "Shut up! What are you doing heading to war when I'M almost ready to explode!"

Athrun sighed and scratched the back of his head. His mobile suit was in storage and was equipped and ready to go into a battle.

Of course, Cagalli wished she could fight as well, but she wasn't in any position to use her Akatsuki for battle.

"Someone has to go and fight, you know that Cagalli…" Cagalli stared at Athrun hard, then Athrun smiled before saying, "Besides, if anything goes wrong while I'm gone, Kisaka will be here to protect you."

Cagalli scoffed before giving Athrun a punch to his arm.

"Prine? Anything in sight?" "Not yet Captain." The good Captain Joule was beginning to feel impatient, like his friend, he didn't like to wait for something to happen.

He would rather be fighting in his mobile suit or maybe even the Duel if it had been upgraded.

"Oh wait! Captain, three mobile suits approaching, IFF states…Saviour, Zaku II and Murasame." Yzak sighed in relief, "Finally!" He exclaimed and then continued, "have the ship prepare to move out, we leave the minute the last one lands."

"Roger that sir." Prine fired a few signal shots from her DOM's bazooka. The three pilots quickly spotted them and moved in on their location. "This is Saviour, Commander Wes Baxter; are we cleared to land?"

"This is DOM, Lieutenant Prine, cleared to land, just don't scratch the paint." "Roger that!"

The three mobile suits were inside the ship and anchored in by the metal grates. The three pilots moved through the ship, following the Lieutenant from the DOM. She kept sneaking confused glances at Wes as she led them to Yzak's room, glances that Wes noticed.

Once inside, Yzak greeted them, "Welcome soldie-Dearka?" Wes blinked at the amazed look on Yzak's face, he then cleared his throat, "Actually I'm Wes, Commander Wes Baxter at your service." Wes then saluted, Trent and Ikros quickly followed suit. Yzak regained his composure and saluted back, "Right, I'm Captain Joule, I'll be leading the operation as we look for the enemy pilots."

"Roger that sir! Pleasure to be working with you!" Ikros half-shouted, Trent noticed that his new friend was beginning to sweat terribly, he nudged him a bit in order to calm him down. Yzak also raised an eyebrow but ignored the sudden shout and allowed a slight smile, "I want you three to rest up, we'll be giving you different jobs while we wait for the sight of the enemy." "Sir!" The three pilots responded in unison.

"Dismissed!" Yzak exclaimed, sending the three pilots out of the room and in search of their own. "Yza-I-I mean, Captain…did you see?" Prine nervously asked her commanding officer, "Yes Prine, I did notice. He looks a lot like Dearka, almost like a brother, but I know for a fact that he doesn't have a brother."

"A clone perhaps?" Prine suggested in curiosity, but Yzak shook his head, "No, there is also a big difference between how he and Dearka look…still, it gave me quite a shock."

The ship was soon moving under the surface of the ocean heading towards the destination of Mendor. Wes, Trent and Ikros found themselves to have been given the same room with bunk beds, along with one other from Zaft. His name was Peter Geral, another pilot of Yzak's ship.

"What do you pilot?" Ikros asked as he unloaded his duffel bag, "I'm piloting a Gouf." Peter Geral answered, he brushed back his short green hair before continuing, "I'm just another pilot under Captain Yzak's direct command."

"Oh so you survived Jachen Due?" Trent asked suddenly, to which Peter nodded. "Barely, my GINN was heavily damaged once the battle ended, I nearly didn't make it." Wes then slapped Peter on his back, "Well then it's a damn good thing you did, or else we might not have a skilled pilot showing us around this new ship."

Peter laughed, before standing up and deciding to show the interior of the ship to the other pilots. Once they reached the bridge, Peter introduced them to their CIC, "That's Cassidy, make sure you listen to her or else she'll take it up with Yzak." The blonde haired girl stuck her tongue out at Peter who laughed in return.

Over in the city beside Gibraltar, Dearka Elsman took his time walking around town. He had a smirk on his face, as he recalled how angry some of the soldiers who stayed were. None of his own soldiers were angry, but the admiral's from the base were.

Gibraltar was peaceful; there was no sign of fear along the streets. Dearka seemed only slightly surprised, knowing that this "war town" of the past had already been through enough to be able to survive during war.

Walking down the streets, the blonde haired captain looked around, seeing the sights. He knew his mission but he never liked working on such serious matters, not in the way that he had to.

He took a seat by a table in a coffeeshop and looked out the window. He began to daydream and look into the past.

'From Zaft, to Buster, to Archangel, to Jachin Due and so much else,' Dearka thought, he constantly wondered how he survived the wars and yet still he could not be happy.

He didn't know why-'No...I know why...' he thought as the image of a certain orange haired girl came to his mind. Dearka sighed as he drank a cup of coffee brought to him seconds ago by the waitress. "What I'd do to be able to talk to you...tell you how I feel..." He mumbled to himself.

"All I wanted was for you to be somewhere safe, so that we wouldn't be split apart..." He sighed again after whispering once more.

He then noticed a flash of light; it brought him out of his reverie. He then looked out and searched for the source, hoping to find something to do from it.

His violet eyes stopped on girl photographer, with finger-less gloves and orange hair. His eyes widened suddenly as he recognized the girl he had just been thinking about, he quickly stood up and searched his pockets for payment, all the the while paying attention to the girl.

He couldn't find the money, and soon thought to himself, 'Why bother?' He sighed again before taking his seat. 'She broke up with me, what can I do?'

He sadly shook his head, he also knew that he wasn't prepared at all to just go up and speak to her. He looked up to see that she had disappeared in the short time that he had looked away.

He focused on his coffee again, and as he finished his drink he noticed another flash, but brighter than before. He was tempted to look up and finally did when he heard knocking by the window beside him.

"Mir..." he said when he saw that she could see him as well. She waved and he waved back, he then offered a chair silently, and she put her thumb and forefinger closely together, before turning towards the entrance.

He smiled at her when she came in but he couldn't say anything, she had the same problem. "uh...how have you been?" Dearka finally said, she answered, "I've been fine, working with photography."

"...uh..." Dearka tried to say something more important but still he couldn't say it, he cursed at himself for being such a coward. She sighed and looked down, wondering what he wanted to say. "I missed you." She looked up in surprise.

Dearka had finally said what he wanted to. He had a serious yet sad look on his face, he then smiled "I really missed you...I still do." Miriallia, blushed but she smiled wide.

Her smile stopped however as she had a look of regret after, "I'm sorry I...dumped you like that...I know it was sudden."

Dearka smiled, "I was wondering but I wasn't going to ask." She smiled in response before asking, "Are you still in Zaft?" "Yup, Captain of my own ship, want to join?"

Miriallia laughed, "I don't think they accept Naturals, but maybe...if you were really asking..."

"Hell, you think I'd mind you being under my command. Best CIC I ever met that's for sure" Miriallia squinted her eyes slightly before answering, "I'll think about it, give me a call tomorrow." She then took out a piece of paper and wrote down her number on it.

She then placed it in his hand; she then smiled and walked out. "See you later!" "Sooner this time I hope!"

"Rena, Walec, and Beka. These three pilots are kids, extended, and their supposed to be better than even the most experienced, how pathetic."

Qura, Captain of the Aratameru 7, looked through the papers. 'I've always hated these monstrocities, a real man fights without any advantage in him whatsoever!' He thought to himself.

He was in his office at the moment but knew that he wouldn't stay there for very long. According to his informant, the group that they'd encountered as well as a few others were following them towards their Destination.

He was also told that a number of famous pilots were on the move, searching for source of the problems. He smiled darkly to himself, 'Our base can't be seen by the likes of those coordinator Lovers.'

A beep sounded in his office, "Yes?" He said with a loud voice. "We're nearing base 2 sir, your presence is requested on the bridge." "Right, go ahead and prepare to dock, I'm on my way."

"Yes sir," the voice no longer continued. The ship was old, too old to allow video transmissions but it was also better at being secretive in that way.

Qura then picked up his red and black Captain's hat and buttoned up his grey suit as he walked towards the bridge.

The ship the Wes, Trent, and Ikros were now on had been known to be a very fast ship. It wouldn't be long before they caught up with the last known location of the enemy, over at Mendor.

Each of the pilots started to get used to their new surroundings. Trent had gone over to the Rec-room, where he was pinched slightly by the girls for being the youngest pilot.

Ikros and Wes were working on their machines. Ikros was going through the finishing touches with his computer, "ICM at Capacity .78; Thrust Engine Output at 1.68, Cooling system at setting 8.7 to account for all parts."

Ikros sighed and wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Done here..." Ikros then stepped out and let his elevator take him down.

He walked by the Saviour and noticed hearing typing. "Hey! Who's up there?" No response came to him, 'Can't be Wes, he's earth forces...a natural.' Ikros shrugged before getting on the elevator and looking into the cockpit."

"Hey, this mobile suit's used by a-" Ikros froze as he looked into the cockpit. A soft whispering filled its small space, "Beam Gun Shot-output Straightened, Fuel-cell negative burn repaired by Electric output, Beam Cannon start up; New OS finished preparation. Choose PSA Color?" Wes stopped speaking for a few seconds before continuing, "Red chest armor and helmet surround by black armor."

Wes sighed much like Ikros had but once he looked up he noticed Ikros standing with a look of confusion, "You're a coordinator?"

A little on the slow side I'll admit, however I can't just have action in every chapter, that much is decided. Also I've come to realize (slowly) that the Mobile Suits with Phase Shift Armor usually change color if they change pilots. So I decided to change it for Wes and the Saviour.

I don't think they'll be very many more like that, unless someone asks to enter a character. I wouldn't mind it since I need positions for "Last Hope" squadron, and for the Extended. I'm not looking to kill anyone of these guys, seriously, I just need more characters and you know something, readers usually have better character ideas than the author him or herself.

Anyhow, review, add characters if you'd like in those reviews and C ya later.

Hawk Strife.

PS. If you want to put in a character make sure that I get a brief description of him or her, both physical and personality. As well as a history.

Thank you.


	4. The Past

Already here with another story, I don't usually go so fast. I might actually finish this one, of course I'm hoping to its just that my writers block is usually pretty bad when it shows up. Hehe. Well enjoy the chapter.

"I'm not a coordinator...at least, I don't think so." Wes said before chuckling slightly, Ikros shook his head skeptically, "I've never seen a natural type like that, especially when creating an OS."

Wes shrugged, "Maybe I'm a genius in disguise but I'm not asking about it." Wes said nothing more as he calmly walked past Ikros and had the elevator move down. Ikros also stayed quiet and looked at Wes, but not in hatred or contempt. He looked at Wes curiously, wondering what his story was and if he was a coordinator, why would he be in the Earth Forces.

"Are you sure?" Over in Captain Yzak's office, Prine had just given him a report that told the same thing that Ikros now knew. "Yes sir, I saw him myself, he was typing too fast to actually be a natural."

Yzak nodded before thinking, 'Sounds like Kira, but this guy fought in both wars...' "Prine!" He said suddenly, to which she stood straighter, "I want the history on Wes, I want to know what he's been doing since he joined EAF."

"Sir!" Prine quickly walked out and the door shut behind her, Yzak sighed. 'Dearka was right, being a Captain is much harder than just piloting.'

Over in Wes' shared room, Ikros hadn't said anything about Wes' actions in his mobile suit. Trent and Peter were beginning to pester each other about their histories in the military. It was obvious that Trent and Ikros had less, but Peter and Wes had much more experience for sure.

Peter started, "Well I never made the grade for "red suit" not until after Jachin Due. The GINN's were the main mobile suit for Zaft in that day and they were pretty hard to handle even then. After Jachin Due I've been testing things out for a while, before Yzak called me back and gave me a Gouf to take to earth. That was the second war."

"We sure did go through a lot of problems during those days; I was part of the group who didn't follow the Chairman completely."

Peter barely survived the battle at Onogoro, but he was kept as a prisoner of war until the end of it. He was then released and taken back into Yzak's team.

"What about you Wes?"

Wes chuckled, "Nothing special, I was just a mobile armor pilot during the first war. After the battle at Endemyon, I got transferred. I moved through a lot of bad luck, the 8th fleet was one of them."

Wes had also battled at Jachin Due, but as a Strike Dagger pilot. After that battle, he barely survived as well with a damaged suit.

After that he continued as a Lieutenant, leading his own squadron into battles for the second war. His job was to protect a cannon on the moon, but there was a malfunction wiping out half of the squadron. That which made up Last Hope, was all that remained.

"You mean the moon cannon?" Ikros asked, to which Wes nodded. "I'm happy it malfunctioned though, even if it killed a lot of people."

"But that one did-" Ikros started but Wes interrupted, "Oh no! Not the first one, there was actually another moon cannon on the other side of the moon hidden away under stone. They were firing the shot after the first cannon was destroyed, that's when the malfunction occurred…"

"Ah I see! You're right then, if that shot had gone without problems there would have been so many other deaths…they might have even gotten Aprillius!"

It was a known fact that Aprillius, the capital of PLANT, was the main target of the first and only shot that the moon cannon took. However, thanks to Yzak and Dearka's team, the first relay point was damaged.

Peter nodded slowly, "Yeah I heard about that while I was still in Orb as a POW. The beam overshot but it took out 4 plants, which then collapsed into 2 others. Januarius, 1-4 and Decembers 7 and 8."

There was silence in that room, a tense one. Wes, Ikros, Peter, and Trent did not wish to think about the lives lost in that even, but at the same time they had to. "A tragedy like that should never have come to be, but since it came it can never be repeated." Trent whispered silently, to which Ikros continued, "That's what people said after Junius 7 too, even after the fall of Junius 7."

"Commander Zala! Message from the Tregan, it's received a response from Mendor."

The blue haired commander looked over at the Orb soldier and nodded, "Go on," "Sir! Mendor states that they have not sighted any suspicious ships on their radar but they will keep searching."

Athrun nodded and the soldier saluted before returning to his post. 'This doesn't bode well,' Athrun thought quietly, 'Mendor is known to have one of the best satellite and radar network systems on the planet, it would take millions of earth dollars worth of technology in order to hide it there.'

"Or maybe their looking for the wrong sign…" Athrun whispered with wide-eyes. "Sir?" Athrun ignored the questioning first officer and then thought back to when he and other pilots were dining with Chairman Dullandal. "Profit from old weapons……Old weapons…"

The first officer was beginning to wonder what was wrong with the Supreme commander before Athrun looked up suddenly, "First Officer Madox, can you tell me if an old 21st century battleship would be detected by our normal radars?"

The first officer seemed stumped before he looked up in order to think about it, he then looked back at his commander, "Sir! Radar networks depend on nuclear sensing, PS Armor cores, and mobile suit battery charged cores. For battleships of our nature they look for heat engine propulsion systems and undersea impulse propulsion."

"What about undersea propeller?" Athrun asked his first officer, and the first officer shook his head, "There is no chance that the current radar system would be able to sense battleships that use propellers, unless of course the system was modified to take that into account. At which point, undersea sonar sensors and microphones would need to be placed."

Athrun nodded and ordered his first officer to send a message to Mendor. "We need them to take propeller using ships into account when using radar, be sure to send a message to Yzak's Homura as well, tell them that the enemy is definitely hiding at Mendor."

Back in Gibraltar, up in a hotel room, the orange haired girl bit her nails as she looked at her phone. "Come on...ring!" she whispered harshly at the phone. She'd taken what Dearka had suggested to heart, and she was willing to join up.

It wasn't just because she wanted to be closer to Dearka, but because she knew that if Naturals were able to work together more with Coordinators in Zaft, there would be better peace and more friendship between both sides.

But she wouldn't be able to do anything unless Dearka called. Meanwhile, Dearka was considering whether he should all or not.

Pacing his office while he wore his Zaft uniform, thinking so much he actually began to sweat. He had a CIC but this one wasn't nearly as good or experienced as Miriallia.

But still, were they ready for Natural and Coordinator relationships, friendships, and even having them join Zaft?

Dearka stopped, and then eyed the phone and the phnoe number beside it. "What the hell..." He then picked up the phone and called the girl of his dreams.

Miriallia started and fell off her bed when the phone rang. She was hoping for it to ring, but she never expected it. She quickly stood up and picked up the phone.

"He-ahemhello?" she cringed as she realized that she'd squeaked her own voice in nervousness. "Hey Mir, it's Dearka, uh...listen, are you interested in wha-" "Yes of course!"

There was silence on the other side of the phone but then Dearka started again, "Ok then...well come on over to Base 21, we'll get you a uniform and we'll head out soon ok, so-uh...please hurry..." "Right! I'll be right there!"

Both hung up the phone, both looked a the phone in slight surprise, and then both said, "Finally going to be happy." with a smile.

After a while of telling stories, the door to the bunk opened, and thee stood Cassidy. "Peter, I need to talk to you." Peter looked over at Cassidy with a confused look, "What about?" "Just come wtih me and then I'll tell you."

"Oh no," Wes started, "should we prepare for a baby or a wedding?"

Cassidy blushed before dragging an even more confused Peter outside of the room. Wes chuckled with the other two friends.

Their small peace was short lived, as a call went through the intercom. "Red alert! Enemies of Mendor coast, battlestations. Pilots to your mobile suits!"

"About time we've been here for days and nothings happened!" Ikros said suddenly, Trent followed before tripping on...sadly nothing. Wes ran up behind him, grabbing the back of his shirt and picking him up as he ran. The three met up with Peter at the pilots changing room.

Up on the bridge, Yzak came up with Prine standing beside him. "What's the situation?" He asked his radar man, "6 Mobile suits, No response from IFF, but their GINNs and Strike Daggers."

Cassidy then called back, "Mobile suits: Gouf, Saviour, Murasame, and Zaku II; ready to launch!" Yzak nodded, give them the ok to launch, don't slow down the ship though."

"Yes sir!"

Over in the hangar, the four ready mobile suits were going through final checks. "Guys you are go for launch, Ikros Peter, you've been ordered to stay on top of the ship. "Roger!"

"Trent, Murasame, Taking off!"

"Wes, Saviour, Moving out!"

The Murasame flew out in its plane form, while the Saviour was launched from the Mobile suit Launcher. The Zaku II and the Gouf were taken up through an elevator.

The Saviour then powered up its armor, newly colored thanks to Wes's change.

Mostly black in color now with red outlines of all the armors but completely red chest armor and a red head armor. The Saviour then transformed and followed the Murasame.

"Six bogeys right?" Wes asked as he followed up behind Trent, "Roger! GINNs and Strike Daggers!" Trent responed.

The six enemies began to fire on the two faster mobile suits. They both then transformed into their normal mobile suit state, and fired back on the enemy.

Most of the GINN's ignored the two and went on towards the ship. The three Strike daggers stayed behind and began to fire on the two mobile suits.

"Trent! Circle around them!" "Roger!" Trent's Murasame transformed immediately and moved behind them before transforming again, the Saviour was already charging forward.

The green beams that the Strike Daggers shot towards the Savior bounced off the shield harmlessly. The Savior then pulled out its beam saber and struck, while the Murasame did the same from behind.

Over at the Homura, Peter and Ikros were fighting off the fast moving GINNs as best they could. "Damn it! They're too fast!" Ikros yelled as he fired again and again, without able to do damage on the sky flying GINNs.

Peter was just the same, although he had received an assault-cannon for the battle just before going up. Both he and Ikros fired many shots but to no avail.

"We'll never take them down at this rate!" Ikros yelled, when one of the GINNs fired its guns at the Zaku II. "Crud!" Ikros pulled back and fired, after the GINN dodged, he lowered his shoulder-shield and took out his Zaku's battle axe, before throwing it at the direction the GINN was going.

It couldn't dodge it and was soon split in two before exploding. "Haha! One down!"

Another GINN charged towards Peter, hoping to avenge the comrade. It brought down its metal sword on the Gouf's cannon. Peter pulled his Gouf back from the exploding cannon as the GINN chased after him, he then pulled out his sword and fought back. "Don't take me lightly!" The metallic sword of the GINN was destroyed and the mobile suit was then cut up.

"Two down!" Peter said when the GINN exploded; they looked up to see that the last GINN was having second thoughts about continuing. It then turned to run before being run through by a beam saber. "Three down!" Trent said as the GINN exploded to reveal the Murasame.

"The Strike Daggers are gone too." Wes said as the Savior came up behind the Murasame. The two landed on top of the deck of the ship. "Good job boys, Captain Yzak wants you to stay on the deck until we're sure that we're away from danger." Peter answered back, "Roger that, thanks Cassidy."

"Good flying Peter."

"Lacus?" Lacus looked up from her to see Kira looking back at her. She had a look of worry on her face, and they had just begun to start eating dinner when the call came.

She sighed, "Yzak was attacked by a couple of GINNs and Strike Daggers, they made it but it's a sign that negotiations might not be an option with these people. The attack wasn't forewarned or anything, it was just sudden."

Kira nodded, "hmm, and you're sure-" "You're not going down there unless they absolutely need you, or at least until _after_ the wedding."

Kira chuckled but nodded, he understood that she wanted this one happiness before anything bad could happen.

Another ring came from her cell-phone, and she sighed as she picked it up. "Yes?" she asked through it, "Of course you can! There isn't any need to ask me……oh no, that's fine Dearka, I'm sure it will help. I'm glad to hear you've found her, take care of yourself and her all right?" She then forcefully closed the cell-phone.

Kira gave a look of confusion, wondering why Dearka would call Lacus about a girl and also wondering who the girl was. "Nothing to worry about Kira."

"Well she seems angry…" Dearka said as he hung up his phone. Miriallia had arrived a few minutes earlier and he was making sure that he was allowed to have a Natural sign up. He hadn't anticipated any of this happening to him at any time, but he didn't want to complain.

Miriallia was given a normal green Zaft women's uniform for CIC. Her collar, however, was colored blue in order to show that she was a Zaft Natural, one of the first of many Dearka hoped in his mind.

Miriallia was quick to suit up into a familiar type of uniform, and then moved on to report in to her Commanding Officer. As strange as it was to have someone suddenly sign up to the military, there was very little that one could do against a Councilor's son's authority, especially if the son was the White-suited Captain of his own ship.

Miriallia was also a special case, being an experienced CIC soldier during both wars for the Archangel. All she really needed was to train how to salute and get used to Zaft hours and regulations during her stay in the military, to which Dearka would help out as best and as secretly, as he could.

"Sir reporting!" Dearka looked up to see Miriallia with her hair combed out and her suit spick and span, normal of a new Zaft soldier. He smiled knowing that the hard times that were coming would seem less of a hard time with a friend standing beside him, as he saluted back he couldn't help but think what would be in store for the two of them.

"Hey, is that it?" Peter remarked suddenly as he looked off into the distance. The four suits were using minimum power, even the Savior had its PS armor turned off. In the distance, land could be seen and over the radio the white-haired Captain spoke, "That's Mendor, Athrun gave us a call saying that he is positive that the enemy is there."

"How do we go about finding it, sir?" Wes asked, to which Yzak responded, "They'll probably come out once they see us. They don't want us causing any trouble, and I _think_ that they won't take us too lightly."

"Yes sir! Shall we patrol the area then?" "I'll have a few GINNs do that, get inside and get some rest before taking off." Yzak signed off and Wes sighed in relief.

The four turned in for the night, as five GINNs took off from the Homura. They went over Mendor, looking for any signs of activity, but finding none. The search went on in that form, as the groups lay hidden in a foggy alcove on the other side of Mendor's port.

"We'll be taking off tomorrow at dawn, the enemy is known to be in port, we need to give them a surprise attack." Qura was speaking with the three extended children with a look of disgust on his face.

Werac Genro the black haired boy who piloted the Black Zaku warrior. Using the stolen shield and sword from the armory at Carpenteria. Beka Trene, the red haired girl who piloted the Red Windam. Using the stolen beam gun with high precision and power. And Rena Roilden, the blue haired girl who piloted the Blue Strike. The leader of the extended, and also the user of a jet pack capable of fast movement.

These three were a dangerous selection of a much larger group of strong High-class extended. They were not the only ones in existence, but they were the first to complete their training. In fact, it wouldn't be long until more extended came and fought alongside them.

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Well that's it for today. And those other extended are also going to be subject to those original characters that I was talking about, as well as "Last Hope" and maybe a few other teams or single characters.

Anyhow that's it, I'll see ya later. Review please!

Hawk Strife.


	5. Let's Switch!

I'm certainly on a roll with this story, I thought I wouldn't be able to get this chapter up at all but I wrote even more than I thought I'd write and all on basically one single battle. This seems to get interesting every time. Anyhow, read and I hope you like it! Seems I made a mix up with the save, I didn't even finish it, oops!

Yzak Joule was sleeping peacefully; getting much needed rest after the search yesterday went nowhere. Most of the ship was, in fact, sleeping. The only one still up was Prine working on her DOM, Peter and Cassidy who were selected to do night-watch.

"Peter? Are you sure?" Peter sighed inside of his Gouf, "Yes I'm sure Cassidy, I think you're very pretty I wouldn't make that up."

Cassidy smiled in response before speaking again, "It makes me happy to hear that." "Well it's not like I can say it everyday, this type of thing really isn't allowed between two soldiers, you know that!"

Peter sighed knowing that he wasn't going to get through to the stubborn girl, 'but maybe that's why we started to go out and all.'

Peter looked over as he noticed the dawn through his Gouf. "Cassidy, dawn's up." Cassidy sighed at Peter's statement, it meant that everyone would have to be woken and their private time was up.

Peter then said something that surprised and worried her, "Bring us up on 2nd battle alert; it's the perfect time to be attacked." Cassidy nodded hesitantly before going to work on bringing people up on an alarm.

"Beka you're the one with the best sniping aim, fire the minute your in range."

Rena, Beka and Warec led a squadron of Strike Daggers towards their new target. "The Homura shouldn't standup to us for very long." Warec said with a chuckle, but Rena responded scoldingly, "Don't take them lightly, the Captain of the Homura was also the Commanding Officer of the Voltaire."

"Yzak Joule huh? This makes things interesting…" Warec said, then Beka sighed, "I wonder if we'll be seeing those mobile suits again…"

She knew she didn't have to wonder, they were known to be in the area before that squadron was shot down instantly by the very mobile suits she spoke of, and one extra. "That Gouf wasn't with them before must be part of the Homura." Warec said and continued, "If that one starts to fight, I want to take a shot at him with my new sword."

"You'd be better off testing it on the Savior; he's one of the stronger ones." Rena whispered coldly and then thought to herself, 'Other than that Zaku…'

"I'm in range!" Beka said suddenly, silencing the others, "Commencing firing." At that, she fired.

"Damn!" Peter yelled as he suddenly brought his shield up when he saw a flash. A strong green beam collided with his shield and pushed his Gouf back a few steps. "Cassidy, hurry up! They're attacking!"

Cassidy quickly issued the emergency alarm, everyone was awake and out of their beds in seconds. Wes, Trent, and Ikros ran out the door while putting on their uniforms. "No pilot suits, we go as is."

Trent and Ikros nodded as they passed by the Pilot changing room and headed straight for the hangar. They barely stopped to breathe when they finally reached their mobile suits, and by then the ship was beginning to shake from constant fire from all around.

Yzak was already there ordering the launching of every mobile suit ready, including his own. Yzak was the first one out in his customized white Gouf.

Ikros followed on top of a Drechu, an advanced version of a flying machine for ground mobile suits. The Zaku II didn't actually need it, but he felt better in it anyhow.

Wes and Trent followed after them and Prine stayed behind with Peter. GINNs flew out from the hangar entrance and headed towards Yzak's and the others location.

Wes was pulled away from the fight by the Black Zaku, likewise for Trent with the Windam and Ikros with the Strike. But no matter what happened, they couldn't overcome the use of the stolen weapons. Wes had a new problem, the Black Zaku had pulled out the sword from the shield and it was stronger than most.

Once pulled out it seemed short, but it was made to fit into the shield in that form and then lengthen itself before covering itself in a purple beam. It was a danger weapon that almost completely went through the Savior's beam sword.

"This is too much," Wes said through gritted teeth as he kicked away from the Black Zaku and fired his two Beam cannons. The red beams almost hit the Black Zaku but it still managed to dodge under the beams before coming right back up to attack the Savior.

Trent and Ikros were not faring any better. Ikros continually fired on the Strike, like before, but nothing changed. 'I'll need to change in order to finally get that pilot, but it won't happen now!' He thought to himself as he continued to fire from the Drechu.

The Strike finally dodged below the Drechu, to which the weapons on the bottom of the Drechu began to fire down at the Strike.

Rena smirked before dodging and finally coming running through the Drechu and attacking what was above…absolutely nothing. Rena's eyes widened as she turned her Strike and immediately was hit by a red beam from Ikros at point-blank range.

Rena screamed as she went down but continued to fire as she got her bearings. "I got him!" Ikros yelled, but he immediately stopped celebrating and started to dodge the incoming random fire from the Strike.

Trent was thinking up a plan the entire time he'd been fighting against Beka in the Red Windam. 'There must be someway to nullify the use of those weapons, but how?' Trent dodged and spun around as another attack suddenly singed his armor.

'Wes' Phase Shift armor would stand better against those attacks…That's it!' Trent then spoke through the radio, "Wes, Ikros, let's switch enemies!" "What?"

Trent didn't explain as he suddenly transformed into plane mode and flew towards the blue Strike. The Strike noticed him and began to fire, but Trent's Murasame had an equal ground in speed and fired back while dodging the entire time.

"I see, our mobile suits and our skills affect the enemies way differently." Ikros immediately used his thrusters to push himself towards the Black Zaku before firing on it.

The Black Zaku immediately raised its shield but was unable to do very much else. Wes then flew towards the Windam in plane mode.

Beka noticed quickly and dodged the plane before immediately aiming at its retreating figure. "Too easy!" She fired, but Wes looked back in time to simply do a U-turn and dodge. She looked surprised before firing again, to which the beams simply bounced off the Savior's PS armor.

"Surprised? This won't be like the other battles!" Wes yelled as he fired his own beams and cannons at the Windam before transforming and attacking directly.

A good distance away, Yzak was fighting against the Strike Daggers with his Gouf. "Stay in formation! Don't lose sight of each other!" he yelled as he suddenly cut down a Strike Dagger with his long-handle axe. A Strike Dagger suddenly appeared on his left, to which he simply fired his left machine-gun at it and destroyed it completely.

"Captain, we've been able to spot where the Strike Daggers are coming from!" Yzak smiled, "Lead the way, I'll cut through anything that gets in front of me!"

A GINN and two others flew away from the battle, and Yzak, true to his word, cut and shot through the Strike Daggers that moved to intercept both him and the GINNs.

"Sir! The base has been spotted!" Qura grimaced, he knew better than to underestimate the coordinators, but he wasn't the one who built the ridiculously obvious base. "Send out the remaining mobile suits, and get the ships ready then. We'll retreat, have the Extended come back once we make it out."

Qura wasn't a fool, and he wasn't interested in fighting losing battles. He fought battles he could win and if for some reason he couldn't, he would leave. His records demanded much respect; he wasn't going to let it end just yet.

"And get my Tozac ready!" Qura yelled as he moved away from his seat and headed towards the hangar.

Once there, he looked up at his Mobile Suit, the Tozac. It was in the form of a Windam, but upgraded with a beam cannon on its chest, and a series of missiles that made up the feather-looking metal on its wings.

Able to fire 30 missiles, up to 5 times when loaded up to full capacity as it was now. And the missiles weren't weak ones, they were able to pierce through armor before exploding, ensuring a greater chance for absolute destruction.

Qura smiled as he climbed aboard, he gave coordinators credit, but he was always happy to slaughter them like sheep when the time came for him to do so. "Tozac, taking off!"

"Captain, enemy mobile suits flying out from the Base's hangar!" Yzak looked up immediately to see that there were many black and white mobiles suits flying out, he heard the soldier continue, "Make up is…GINN's and Zaku's, and one other, I can't tell what it is. Looks like an orange Windam!"

Yzak noticed the unknown showing up on his radar, he looked over to see the orange colored Windam Mobile suit moving through the air and then stopping before a spark showed up on its chest. Yzak's eyes widened, "All mobile suits! Spread out!" The order was taken immediately, just as the new mobile suit fired its beam cannon.

Most of the GINNs got away, a small number were too close and exploded seconds after the shot passed by them. Only one of the affected GINNs survived but it began to fall as its pilot had become unconscious and its legs were completely destroyed.

Yzak flew down and caught it before it crashed and passed it on to another GINN. "Take him back to the Homura and have him get to the Medic. Then come straight back." The GINN flew off with the damaged torso of the other GINN in its hands. Yzak then looked back at the destructive Windam.

He then flew straight at him, while the Windam looked over at the retreating GINNs. Another spark started but Yzak was close enough to fire his close range guns. Qura looked surprised as he quickly pulled back and fired his normal beam gun at the Gouf. Yzak brought his shoulder-shield down and blocked the attack.

He then heard a voice over the radio, a laugh before the man spoke, "I'm always impressed when I see a mobile suit block a beam shot with a shield on his shoulder." Yzak looked up to the orange mobile suit in confusion before the voice continued, "It's a much better skill than having to use your entire left arm to carry the shield they give in the EAF."

"So then, you're part of the Earth forces?" "Not anymore, but this little baby was taken from the Earth forces."

Yzak grimaced and thought to himself, 'So these guys could just be a rogue group from both Zaft and EAF? Or maybe they really are Blue Cosmos?'

"I thought I should say, it's an honor to fight the great Yzak Joule, as much as I hate your kind." Yzak heard when he gave an exasperated look, 'Yup, their Blue Cosmos.'

"And who are you then?" Yzak said finally, "Oh me? I am Qura, and this is the Tozac!" The Tozac then suddenly spread its wings, and from it a few of the feathers suddenly began to fly away, propelled by an engine. "Missiles! Zaft forces, evasive maneuvers!"

"I can't dodge it!" One of the GINN pilots yelled as he moved around, but the missile continued to follow it, before it pierced through the cockpit's armor. "Aaaaaah!" the pilot screamed out as he felt his stomach split, before the missile exploded.

Yzak cringed as he heard similar screams of pain over the radio. He then charged forward with his axe and attacked the Tozac. Qura grinned as he pulled out a long spear and fought back.

Yzak charged forward, while bringing down his axe but the Tozac used its spear to push the axe's blade away and then brought it down on the head of the Gouf. Yzak yelled as the Gouf's head was suddenly crushed and a few camera screens went blank.

Wes fired his cannons at the Red Windam before flying around and firing again. Beka could barely dodge the first pair of beams, and she tried to block the second pair. The energy was too much and the left arm of her Windam exploded.

The Red Windam began to fall and Beka barely kept control of it. "Damn it!" she yelled as she fired on the Savior with her gun. 'This guys just as good as that Murasame, but he's not getting on my good side like the Murasame!' she thought to herself as she pulled the trigger.

The Savior moved around and tried to dodge, Wes was forced to use his shield as well. He looked over to his controls to see that the shield would probably explode if he let another shot hit it before it cooled down.

He then transformed into plane mode and flew towards the Windam. "How are you able to be that fast in a stupid Jet?" Beka yelled as she fired and missed, she then pulled up meters away from the ground. She landed and fired some more.

Wes decided against firing and then flew away, Beka smiled, "Perfect shot!" She fired, but Wes dodged it just like he did the first time. Wes felt anger begin to form up inside of him, "I'm a fighter and mobile armor pilot before I'm a mobile suit pilot, don't take me lightly!"

Wes then transformed the Savior and charged right into the Windam.

Trent looked down at the battle after he kicked the Strike towards the ground. He then heard some beeping from his radar, his eyes widened, "Missiles! Everybody dodge!"

Wes, Ikros, and Trent looked around before flying away from their enemies. Rena growled, "Hey! Don't run away from me!"

"Extended, I'm ordering you to return to your ships before you take anymore unnecessary damage. Move out immediately!" It was Qura, the missiles had been from him and they were made to take care of the three stronger pilots while the Extended retreated.

Rena growled slightly as she looked at the Murasame, but even more so as she looked at the Zaku II. She fired on it in order to surprise the pilot. It worked as Ikros' eyes widened and he looked over to the Strike who was now pointing at him.

He knew that the Strike pilot wanted to fight him and him alone, but he wouldn't be able to stand a chance unless he got stronger and faster with the beam cannon.

"Ikros, Trent, the missiles are coming in right now!" Ikros heard Wes, and then looked up to see the missiles. There were 20 of them, and he fired on a few destroying a couple. He then charged up his booster on his back and made for a big jump towards the Homura. Wes and Trent transformed into Jets and moved towards the ship as well with as much speed as they could muster.

The missiles were just as fast and were soon closing in on them. "How can they be so fast?" Wes yelled, Trent looked back and noticed something strange, "Their too thin to be affected by air resistance. Damn it! And the propulsion is also high-tech, they might be able to catch up with us at this rate!"

"Well then, we'd better do something about that shouldn't we!" They all heard the voice but didn't know where it came from. Then a few beam shots came from the forest below them, as well as a few shots from an automatic gun. "Is that Peter?" Wes asked, getting a response, "And Prine!"

The shots took out the closest missiles but there were still many left. Then another few beams came through them and destroyed the rest of the missiles. "Thought you might need some back up little brother."

"Rekos!" Trent yelled out as he looked to the side to see a red and yellow Murasame in Jet mode leading another squadron of Murasames. "Supreme Commander Zala is on his way to help out Captain Joule, he's in trouble and the other Mobile suits are getting away." Rekos said as he appeared on his younger brother's monitor. One would never guess that the two were family, what with Rekos having red hair and blue eyes, while Trent had white hair and red eyes.

"Right, we'll follow your lead then, Ikros get on!" Wes yelled out and lowered to allow the Zaku II a ride. Trent lowered himself as well, "Peter do you need a ride?" "I'll be right up Trent!"

The blue Gouf jumped up and onto Trent's Murasame before all four went on ahead. "Prine! Head back to the ship, we'll take it from here!"

Prine sat in her DOM frustrated, "You'd better bring Yzak back alive!" "We'll bring the Captain back no sweat Prine!" Peter said through his radio while his Gouf waved.

Back with Yzak and Qura, the two were battling fiercely with no signs of stopping. Yzak was angry though, and his attacks were more desperate and held less control, in the end he kept taking more and more hits from Qura.

It wasn't long before the black, blue and red mobile suits passed them and headed straight for the farthest of the retreating ships and submarines. Qura smiled, "Well I supposed those Extended kids do know how to follow orders…to an extent." The Tozac then brought down its spear again on the Gouf, tearing off the bottom of the left arm, leaving the shield but destroying the gun arm.

Yzak's white Gouf was in bad shape, the head was missing as was the right leg and now the left-gun arm. There were also a number of black scores marked all over the armor, especially on the shield.

Qura's Tozac hadn't taken very much damage and was prepared to deal even more to the Zaft Coordinator. But two red beams stopped him.

Qura looked away from Yzak's Gouf to see that there was now a new mobile suit. A legendary mobile suit, colored red with a Drechu attached to its back. It also had beam sabers attached to its legs and two normal beam sabers ready to use at the waist.

Finally, it had two beam-cannons on its shoulders, able to bend forward in order to fire and an energy boomerang, useful in dealing damage to a fast enemy.

"The Justice…" Yzak said as he looked in the same direction. "This is Athrun Zala, Supreme Commander of Orb military to the unidentified Orange Mobile suit. Retreat now; you are no match for me." Yzak chuckled, he knew he was just trying to rile the pilot of the Orange mobile suit into a fight, and he was doing it correctly.

"Why you!" Qura charged forward with his spear and tried to bring it down on the Justice cockpit. Tried but failed miserably. The Justice did a quick kick that cut through the spear's handle and the left arm of the Tozac.

"I warned you!" Athrun kept his shield up and used the Justice's right hand to put the beam sabers at his waist together to make a double beam saber. The Justice then charged forward and cut through the other arm, the Tozac quickly turned tail and flew away.

"You bastard." Yzak said quietly, "What are you doing in a place like this anyhow?" Athrun smiled and answered, "I came here to help you, and have been helping you for a while now. Don't you remember?"

Yzak chuckled, "Who asked you to help me?" "Your mobile suit. It looks like it went through Jachen Due and Messiah!"

"Oh shut up…"

"So they got away?" Trent asked slowly, Wes nodded, "Barely, and to think that we didn't spot them because they were using older technology."

Peter nodded, "It's certainly ironic, we're more advanced in technology than the 21st century machines and yet those things still got past the sensors."

Ikros sighed, "They must really be working on something important, I can't believe they've been hiding like that.

The four pilots stayed silent for a while, thinking about the possibilities of what their hiding could mean. Wes was the first to give up, "I'm too tired to think so hard. I just came back from battle after all."

The other three laughed, but Trent asked, "So then what will you do?" "I'll go check on the Savior."

Wes walked out of the bunker and moved to the hangar. The slight rocking of the ship had settled ever since they fixed a hole that was made on the side of the ship. They were lucky to have fixed it before the Homura sank.

Wes thought to himself as he moved into the hangar, it was then that he noticed someone standing in front of the Savior.

"Never thought I'd see you again…" He heard the person say and as Wes got closer he noticed that the person had blue hair and was wearing a high ranked Orb uniform. 'He must be Athrun Zala,' Wes thought to himself as he closed the distance.

Athrun then noticed Wes and waved, "Hi nice to meet you…you're Wes Baxter right?" "Yes sir."

"Yzak's told me about you, although I'd rather see how good you are with this mobile suit for myself." Athrun continued, to which Wes scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"I need to go though, we'll talk later but I have to speak with Yzak about those guys we fought today." Wes nodded at Athrun and looked on as he walked away. Wes shook his head and got to work on the Savior's OS hoping to find something that he could upgrade.

'Yzak was right,' Athrun thought to himself as he left, 'He does look a lot like Dearka.'

"So what now?" Yzak asked Athrun as they both spoke about the battle's end. "Now? We need to find out where these guys went and what their trying to do…soon too because if I miss my child's birth or Kira and Lacus' wedding because of this, I'll be pretty mad believe me."

Yzak laughed, "Don't worry, we'll take a break if your wife suddenly goes into labor. And the Wedding isn't for another 5 months isn't it?"

Athrun shook his head, "Lacus decided to move into next month, it seems that Kira is getting restless with just hearing news and not being able to help out. Lacus won't let him go until after they are married, so she decided to make the wait shorter."

"Kira and the Freedom would certainly be of great help right now; so would the Buster and Duel for that matter but I won't ask for that." Yzak said but Athrun shrugged, "For all I know they've been sitting in storage collecting dust, Cagalli might let them go soon if they're really needed in battle."

"We'll worry about that later then," Yzak continued, "For now we just need to know which direction we're going to search now." "We could probably use a couple of days to think about it, how's that for an idea?" "Sounds good to me, Dearka and Menla can handle themselves for a couple of days, and they might even have a lead by then too."

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Well that's it for today, and probably for the week because I am bushed. I hope you guys liked this chapter, please review, and I still need ideas for other original characters please! I'm not rushing but I feel better when I am prepared, just something I feel.

Anyhow, if there is nothing else right now I shall retire to my bed.

Night!  
Hawk Strife


	6. Holding Out

Sorry this took so long, I've been having kind of a hectic month. Hopefully after this chapter's been posted I won't have to worry as much about the work. I hope so anyhow, I hope you enjoy this. Also, it seems I made a screw up with one of the characters, I just hadn't realized that the character that never said anything was actually given the name Shiho. But rather than fix it I'm going to just add her in right now, it might actually make it more interesting.

"Captain Dearka!"

Dearka turned towards the voice; it was that of a girl whom he had stationed to be working alongside the new CIC, but she was also the first officer. Her name was Neirel, a black haired girl and the current radar viewer. She was also in charge of missile turrets, and had been instructed to teach Miriallia in how to fire them as well.

Neirel was adamantly against such interaction. She'd always been on the side of Zaft and against any peaceful alliance between the Naturals and Coordinators.

"I don't agree with you allowing a Natural to suddenly join Zaft!" Dearka turned towards the slightly younger girl before speaking, "I wasn't under the impression that I had to pass my decisions through you before they could be accepted. Last I checked, I am still Captain of this ship."

Dearka was calm and collected, not like usual but that was because he knew fighting would only create a fuss. Neirel raised an eyebrow at her Captain before continuing, "How do you even know that Natural won't choke during battle?" "Because I do, now that's enough out of you, go on about your business!"

Neirel quickly saluted and turned in a huff, she didn't even wait for her commanding officer to salute back to her. Dearka sighed as she disappeared around the corner, he had expected a little bit of fight against his decision. For the most part however, Neirel was the only actual anti-natural; however her reasons were her own.

Neirel walked on to the bridge of the ship, knowing that her duties weren't finished and she was actually on a temporary break. When she came back she noticed that Miriallia, the blue collared Zaft soldier, was sitting in front of a terminal working diligently.

Neirel snuck up behind her and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she noticed that Miriallia was going through system checks for Communications, and also for anti-aircraft firing, at a reasonable speed.

She scoffed, which brought Miriallia's attention over to her as Neirel sat down beside her. "I wonder where you got the experience to do that much information handling at such a quick pace…for a natural that is…"

Miriallia frowned before turning her head and getting back to work on her terminal. The ship was ready to go when Dearka came onto the bridge, "Neirel, we're launching. Helmsman, take the ship and head towards heading 224." He said as he moved over to the world map in front of him.

Neirel turned from her seat and asked, "Where are we heading, Captain?" Dearka answered without taking his eyes from the table, "We're heading for Dogosen; it's been attacked recently by a strongly armed group and I'm interested in seeing if their related to the ones who attacked Carpenteria."

Neirel nodded although a bit suspiciously at her Captain before moving around and issuing orders to the others. Dearka sighed quietly; he'd known that he wouldn't be able to fool her easily.

True that Dogosen had been attacked by a powerful yet unknown group, but there was also another piece of news. Yzak had called saying that the attackers at Carpenteria had gotten away, and a few satellite images were able to find them heading straight for Dogosen.

Dearka felt uneasy, for the first time in a long time.

As the Voltaire moved out from Gibraltar's port, another ship moved out from the port at Dogosen. A port city on the coast of Spain. "Captain Menla, are you sure we should be moving out from port?"

Menla looked over to her first officer, Hagard, before answering, "The ship may be slightly damaged, but we'll be receiving both welcomed and unwelcome guests, we need to be prepared for both."

Hagard saluted before walking behind the other soldiers working at their posts.

"Commander Jaken, prepare your Gouf for combat, we might head into a bad spot at some point." Jaken's face appeared on the monitor after Menla called in, "I'm afraid there might not be too much chance of that Captain. The launcher and elevator is damaged, and also we don't have any other pilots left."

Menla cringed at Jaken's words, during the sudden attack at Dogosen, most of her DINN pilots were destroyed. The enemy force consisted mostly of Goufs, and if it wasn't for Jaken there would have been more damage before the Goufs retreated.

"Well think of something, we're only going to have one soldier coming to back us up, and she's going to be a little late." Jaken's forehead furrowed, "Who is it?"

Menla shrugged, "Her name's Shiho, and she was once the personal bodyguard to Captain Yzak himself. She's been flying solo for a while I hear, and she just received orders to help us."

Jaken nodded, "I see, she has a sister working with Captain Joule, doesn't she?" "Prine, but their not actually related, only similar last names and in looks. I think Prine was the younger sister to Heine."

Jaken nodded, he remembered Heine one of the Faith soldiers. Dying just after he joined up with the Minerva thanks to one of the stolen weapons. His death also caused many problems between the Archangel, the Minerva and the soldiers aboard both, or so the rumors went.

"Jaken, stop thinking about it." Jaken looked up at his commanding officer; he smiled in response when she continued, "That war is over, now we just have to stop another one from happening, we have to do everything in our power."

Jaken nodded before saluting and signing off. He then stared at the screen, before heaving a big sigh and slouching off. "You'll never have a chance if you never try, you know." Jaken looked up to see one of the workers look out from his Gouf. Jaken sighed again before continuing on to the rest of the work that had to be finished before a battle began.

A small convoy of old 21st century battleships, submarines, tankers and aircraft carriers floated through the sea.

Its Captain, Qura, was still fuming over the sudden and pathetic loss that he had suffered at the hands of the incredible weapon, Infinite Justice.

The Tozac was still out-of-commission, and wouldn't be repaired until they reached the next base.

He'd heard only bad news so far, including the fact that their base at Dogosen had been attacked by an unknown force, that decided to attack the city as well.

Over on another launcher ship, the three Extended were resting. Rena, Warec and Beka were still exhausted from the battle. "Those guys…they're something else," Warec finally said, bringing the attention of the other two towards him. Warec smiled, "They're strong…we won't be able to beat them easily."

Beka nodded before lying down on her bed, she thought of the Murasame pilot, "They're also learning to handle our different abilities very well, as well as those weapons we took."

Rena nodded as well before sitting down in front of a computer, "I never would have thought that they would suddenly switch enemies. It was quite ingenious, which means that we have to prepare ourselves with a different strategy when our mobile suits are repaired."

Although the damage wasn't overly extensive, it wasn't safe to go into battle or even take off in the state that the mobile suits were in. And their repairs would only be possible on a base or a modern-day ship, not 21st century.

Dogosen was considered the only open option available to them; and this base was more secretive than the others. It was safer and less seen by human eyes; the only problem was that the surface ships would have to be scuttled at some point if they wanted to keep it that way.

"Lieutenant Hahnenfuss, you are cleared to land."

A gray DOM slowed and stopped as it landed on top of the Shogun. It soon flew in through an open side towards the hangar. "Sorry about that Lieutenant," a man said as he spoke through her video-screen, "The elevator as well as other things aren't completely repaired yet, this is the only exit and entrance we have for mobile suits at the moment."

The brown haired pilot nodded with a serious expression on her face, "It's fine, just tell me where to land this thing."

After she landed, Shiho lowered from her DOM and landed on the ground softly. She was met by a worker who immediately saluted her; she returned the salute before walking past him.

He followed and started to speak, "Captain Menla is currently in her office, she'd appreciate it if you speak with her soon."

Shiho nodded and continued to walk towards the Captain's Office. She wore a red Zaft suit, but also it was the men's style.

She'd never worn the women's uniform, deciding that she would rather stick to her usual routine, although no one actually believed that to be the case.

Her past friends had noticed that she'd become colder ever since Yzak had ordered her to be transferred away, even though she'd been with him as much as Prine, her cousin.

She knocked on the door to Menla's office. "Lieutenant Hashenfuss reporting!"

She entered and saluted her new Captain. "Shiho! It's certainly nice to see you again!" Menla exclaimed with a smile before greeting Shiho with a friendly handshake.

Shiho nodded seriously and shook back. Menla shook her head, "Still being cold towards him aren't you?" Shiho growled in response, "Is there something you'd like me to do...Captain?"

At that point a voice came through the intercom, "Lieutenant Hashenfuss, please report to the hangar."

"It seems Jaken has something in mind; go on..."

"Captain Elsman, we're two hours away from Dogosen." "Thank you Neire, make sure that everyone gets a decent amount of rest before we reach Dogosen."

The first officer saluted before going back to work. "Ensign Haww, please contact the hangar and ask how preparations are going?"

"Anything in specific sir?" Mir looked back with a questioning look, Dearka shook his head, "No, just everything in general."

After a few seconds, a call to the head of the Hangar came through. "Ian, this is Mir, how are things going down there?" Ian looked up from the Gunner Zaku he had been working on.

"We're almost done with weapon preps, the Gunner Zaku is taking a little longer. All DINN's and Zaku's will be ready for heavy battle within the hour...is he getting nervous?"

Miriallia giggled slightly, "I think he just doesn't have very much to do right now, he needs to think about something else," she then looked over her shoulder slightly and whispered, "He really doesn't seem suited to be a Captain-"

"I heard that!" Miriallia cringed before signing off and looking over to Dearka. He was rubbing his eyes and frowning. "Sir, might I suggest that you get some sleep?" Dearka then smiled before nodding. He stood up, "Neire, you have the bridge."

"What is it Jaken?"

Shiho looked over to the Gouf pilot, whom smiled over at her, "What? No 'hello, how are you?' or anything? What's wrong?"

Shiho growled slightly, "I don't want to talk about it." Jaken sighed before moving over to knock on the gray DOM. "This things really out of shape, are you sure this thing will fly?" "I'd like a replacement part for the body shield, but everything else can wait until after the battle."

"You heard her boys!" Jaken called up at the worker, "Five minute job, don't waste time!" He then looked over at Shiho, "Come on, we'd better suit up before we lose the chance."

Jaken was right in the end, because just outside the ship a number of mobile suits were beginning to come out from the horizon. "Captain, unidentified Mobile suits!" Menla quickly moved from her office to the bridge while speaking into her com, "What kinds?"

"Several atmospheric DINN's, some GINN's and Goufs. Too many to give an accurate count!"

At that moment the ship rocked suddenly from an explosion, "What was that?" Menla yelled out as she regained her balanced and continued to run to the elevator that would take her to the bridge. "Underwater explosion, there is a submarine beneath us!"

Once Menla reached the bridge she began to yell out her orders. "Tell Jaken and Shiho that they need to launch immediately, and send out an SOS to the Voltaire, we can't push the enemy back without them." Menla paused for a moment before continuing, "Also tell them, there aren't any Earth Forces Mobile suits attacking us, only Zaft."

The message was sent and the counterattack soon began. Shiho was up and into her DOM when she asked, "Did you finish?" "Mostly, we weren't able to charge the battery completely though so you're not going to be able to use it the minute you get out." The worker speaking quickly lowered the elevator and waited for the Gray DOM to start moving.

Jaken's polished Gouf was also on the move to the same side of the hangar. With only one exit/entrance, they would need to go one at a time. "Make sure you guys get over the cannons and help the workers over there, there's nothing to do here." Jaken stated before following Shiho as she jumped out over the water.

Menla called through to them, "Shiho, Jaken, we have a submarine below us and several different Zaft type mobile suits heading this way. We can't fight them off but we can hold here until our reinforcement arrives."

On top of the Shogun, Shiho and Jaken immediately began to fire on the mobile suits surrounding them. "Who are these guys?" Jaken yelled as he barely dodged fire from another Gouf. A missile came onto it and detonated at its waist, destroying the cockpit.

Jaken looked over to see the Gray DOM sliding about the deck of the ship, while firing beams and missiles at the same time. "Now's not the time to worry about that."

Jaken nodded at his Captain's comment and continued to fire from the left arm. A DINN flew down and fired a few bullets at Jaken. The bullets missed barely, but Jaken was able to fire back before any others were fired.

Two Goufs then landed on the deck, before they were destroyed by a missile from Shiho's rocket launcher. Shiho was beginning to sweat from moving around so much on her DOM, she used her shield when a beam suddenly came towards her from a flying GINN.

She then fired back with her own beam cannon, the nozzle being just above that of the missile launcher. The GINN was cut in two before exploding.

The sky around the Shogun was lit up with explosions coming from beam fire, mobile suit explosions and missiles. The water exploded as well from the numerous torpedoes being fired from the seemingly invulnerable submarine.

"Captain! There is a hull breach on the starboard side!" "Engine capacity has fallen down to 72 percent and dropping!" Menla growled as she saw that they were being outnumbered and outgunned.

"How far is the Voltaire?" Menla asked quietly, "Unknown, our radar network is destroyed, we can't pinpoint their current location." Another explosion rocked the ship from above, "Missile pods three through seven, inoperable!" "Damage to the upper hull is increasing!

"We've lost contact with Jaken!"

Captain Menla finally reached a point where she didn't know what to do. She had to wait, and she had to retreat; but she could do neither. Her life was flashing before her eyes, she didn't know what she had to do.

"Jaken is?..." she whispered to herself, to which Hagard looked on with sadness. He then whispered, "He's not dead, but he can't fight anymore..." Menla sighed in relief, "C-call him back then..."

"We can't Captain! He refuses to leave the battlefield!" A video screen showed a legless Gouf leaning on an elevated platform and firing his gun at the same time. The small beam shots broke through the armor of some DINNs.

Then a beam flashed and collided with the right arm of the Gouf, but still it fired with its left arm. "Commander Jaken! Please leave the battlefield!" The CIC exclaimed, but Jaken shook his head, "I can still fight, I'm staying!" With that being said, Jaken fired again and shot down the GINN that destroyed the Gouf's right arm.

The Shogun was covered in scores of black marks and burns. More DINNs suddenly appeared and more shots were fired. Shiho finally received too much damage to continue, and Jaken's only weapon was soon destroyed.

Then suddenly two red beams split the skies where the DINNs flew, and each exploded.

"Where did that shot come from?" Menla did not have to ask when two mobile suits came on screen. Two multicolored gundams.

"This is the Impulse and the Destiny," a female voice suddenly came though a communications channel. "This battle is over! Leave this location before we are forced to attack."

Menla felt little worry knowing that she had no other mobile suits prepared to do battle. But she was not willing to leave her post and allow anyone to enter and damage the city of Dogosen.

"Helmsman, we're not moving until the enemy leaves, is that clear?" With a nod from the helmsman, the ship stayed in its position on the surface of the water. Seconds later, an explosion sounded on the side of the Shogun.

"Torpedo fire from the submarine below! We're being hailed by them!" Menla looked over to the Communications officer in confusion, but answered soon after, "On screen!"

The face of a young man then appeared, "This is Vice-Captain Yamaco, of the Submarine Odyssey. I'll just cut to the point, we want you to surrender or you will be destroyed."

Menla gritted her teeth, "This ship isn't lost, and we will not allow you to enter and decimated the entire city."

"Our orders are not to decimate the city," Menla looked confused before the Vice-Captain continued, "We have orders to destroy all naturals in that city."

Menla's fury returned at that point, but only she could be seen as exceedingly angry. Everyone else on the bridge seemed confused as the Vice-Captain continued, "Your ship is lost, and you're risking your lives for pathetic naturals."

The air was tense and cold. There had been no movement outside since the firing of the torpedo. Even the Impulse and Destiny hadn't moved. "Shinn, they're not leaving..." Lunamaria looked around with worry, wondering what could be done. Her Impulse was in Aile mode, but she couldn't stay flying forever.

"Just wait awhile longer Luna, we'll know what to do soon." Shinn looked through his vid-screens keeping a close eye on all the battleships.

They'd heard the conversation between the Vice-Captain and the Shogun Captain. They didn't know which side they felt they would fight. They're confusion didn't last long when the Captain of the Shogun gave her answer.

"Zaft is now at peace and allied with the Earth Alliance, we will not follow the orders of a side of Zaft that has deserted." "Brave words Captain, but is your crew ready to follow them? They could stay and follow the words of our Patrick Zala."

Menla finally noticed just how quiet it was inside of the bridge. She smiled then and waited before speaking "The choice is there's." "Then here's mine!"

Menla looked to her video screen in shock to see Jaken had moved to the side of the Shogun and was using Shiho's weapon to fire a beam shot into the water.

"Hey! That's mine!" Shiho yelled from her spot on the deck, but she could do very little from that spot as Jaken kept firing.

Menla looked on in confusion before hearing, "Your orders ma'am?" She looked to see Hagard saluting, waiting for her orders.

Menla looked around, seeing that all of the crew was waiting for an order. She smiled before ordering, "Helmsman, reverse 20. Have our laser gun prepare to fire into the water!"

When the ship began to move, seconds later it fired into the water. "Situation unknown with the submarine!"

There was no explosion and no sound, but then the mobile suits that had stopped moving in the air charged again at the Shogun.

They were then shot down as well from missiles. Menla sighed in relief, knowing that their reinforcements were finally here.

"Captain Dearka!" "I know! Prepare all mobile suits, the protection of the Shogun is most important! Missiles and Gottfrieds, aim for the battleships."

The Voltaire floated and moved along the surface of the water. Soon GINNs and Zakus had launched from the ships hangars. The battle had taken a new turn, while up in the sky, the two Gundams looked down at the battle.

"Who do we support? Shinn?" "No one...I still don't know who to trust...Let's just keep looking for our target. That might help us."

Dearka looked up, noticing that the Destiny and the Impules were leaving at high speeds. He frowned before ordering, "Niere the bridge is yours. Have my Gunner Zaku ready to go."

With another battle going underway, several GINNs landed on the Shogun's deck and took the damaged mobile suits to their hangars and then returned to the deck.

With more soldiers and pilots, there was a sudden change in the balance of power, especially when Dearka launched and fired. It skimmed the water's surface before firing numerous shots up at the DINN's.

He then swerved and flew towards the Shogun, in time to see an explosion from underwater. "Neire, send out Dakens, that sub has done enough."

Without waiting for a response, he flew up and fired down at faint shadow of the submarine. He noticed light flashes but nothing more, 'Must be some armor.'

Below the surface, there Dakens, underwater mobile suits colored black dropped into the ocean. The large and bulky machines sped through the water until they reached the submarine. Equipped beam weaponry and underwater torpedoes, that could be used as cannon fire above water, they fired at the Submarine with what they had.

Inside, the Vice-Captain growled as he heard several clangs from the lowering air pressure and the increasing ruptures on the submarines hull.

"Full Ahead, I want to do some damage to the Shogun." The submarine was on the move, and the Dakens noticed while firing at the ship more.

Suddenly, a beam came down a ripped a hole through the middle of the Submarine. The Vice-Captain looked out at the surface to see that the shot had come from the Shogun itself, he then looked forward and his eyes widened. "T-that ship!" Another beam crashed into the Submarine, and above water a sudden tower of water exploded from the deep.

"Submarine has been confirmed destroyed by the Shogun's attack!" The Daken pilot reported before propelling to the surface. On top, they fired on the already retreating forces of the proclaimed "Zala Faction."

Dearka's black Gunner Zaku floated in the air. "Captain Menla?" He called through the radio, as he looked down to the damaged ship. "Captain Dearka, thank you for your support."

Dearka smiled, "Ready to help out, now let's head back to Dogosen. Time for repairs."

Another battle had been won, and it had taken a number of sacrifices. But something was missed, the Extended group and their army. They slept in beds under Dogosen, while their ships slept under the sea.

It had been 1 month since the beginning of the conflict. No answers had been concretely found, but there were many theories. The Zala faction had named itself, but the others were still unknown. The Extended's origin was missing and several more question were beginning to come out of the council.

Hopes for peace continued within the people, but the politicians began to consider pointing a finger to a side for blame. Peace was difficult to consider for past Coordinator/Natural haters.

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That took a while; I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Now I still need new characters and I'm really not sure who else using names and mobile suits to put onto this story. Anyhow it really is up to you in the end. Please review at least.

Hawk Strife


	7. Restless Recovery

This one is gonna be the last update I give until after Christmas vacation is up. I'm hoping that by the end of it I'll finally get some new character ideas from readers and such. I'm going to enter some soon, but I need those character ideas stat, and I just wanna relax these two weeks that I have. So please, lighten the load just a bit for me would ya?

Enjoy!

"So they were last seen in Dogosen?" Athrun asked his longtime friend, Kira, as he drank a cup of coffee in the morning. Kira nodded when he spoke, "Those guys you were looking for disappeared while the battle was going on; I wouldn't be surprised if they sank their ships in order to slip past Dearka and Menla."

Athrun nodded and then sighed, "We can't blame them though, they barely made it through, we should be glad for that…" Kira agreed completely and then continued, "They'll be heading towards Orb soon, and we've asked that you and your ships be called back as well."

Athrun laughed and smiled, "It's already that time is it?" Kira blushed but grinned at the same time. "Yeah…we'll be doing it in Orb, but we think that an escort won't be a bad idea either. I'll obviously be taking the Freedom but I can't do everything by myself."

"I understand, we'll be there with the best pilots needed to help out in case something happens. Do you think something will happen?" Kira frowned at his friend's question, "Be sure to tell Dearka and Yzak at least, Lacus was almost killed recently." Athrun coughed up on his coffee in surprise as Kira continued, "There was a sniper, if it wasn't for a couple of bodyguards, I'm not sure what would have happened."

"I see," Athrun answered, "I'm happy to hear that she's all right then, I'd hate for something to happen just before you're wedding day." Kira smiled in response but said nothing, Athurn continued, "I'll go ahead and call Cagalli, she'll start to set up good security for the wedding."

"I appreciate that Athrun." Athrun smiled in response before shrugging his shoulders. "We'll be sure to get there when we can, we'll also send some pilots into space to wait for you guys when the time comes." Kira nodded, "You should know that most of the council members will be coming with us, so it's gonna be a very big target."

Athrun nodded, "I'll take care of it."

**---------**

On the Voltaire, Dearka oversaw the repairs going through the Shogun at Dogosen. Dearka sighed in relief, the Shogun and its crew had been very lucky.

He also knew that Jaken and Shiho were also very lucky. The damage was not-fixable, but replacements wouldn't take very long to position.

From what he heard, both ships would be sea-worthy in a matter of hours. He was glad to know that, he'd received word that Lacus and Kira would be on their way to Orb along with most of the other council members, including his father along with the rest of his family.

He then took a shy look over to Miriallia, the blue collared Zaft soldier. He sighed, even though she'd been on the ship for so long, he hadn't had time to speak with her privately. He got the feeling that she felt the same way every now and then.

He also knew, that Neire seemed to suspicious of both of them. He had to be careful or else Neire would report him of not following through with Zaft Military regulation.

Dearka finally sighed, loudly to which Miriallia noticed and turned around. "Something wrong D?" Miriallia asked using her nickname for him. Dearka was happy to realize that for once, he was alone on the bridge with Miriallia.

"Not really...well not now anyways." Dearka grinned, and Miriallia raised an eyebrow. She knew that smile well, and she smiled back before turning around and getting back to her work. Dearka smiled before standing up and walking over to her.

"Captain, if you're not careful, you might be charged with harassing a newer and younger soldier." Dearka backed off slightly, "You're not that much younger than I am..."

Miriallia giggled, "I am thankful that I can be here though...just...I don't deserve your care right now...not yet..."

Miriallia's demeanor changed so suddenly, that Dearka felt even more confused.

He then shrugged before placing a hand on her head, and then ruffling her hair suddenly. She gritted her teeth as she felt her hard work suddenly messed up by that man.

Dearka grinned seeing her grit her teeth, before heading back to his chair.

A sudden beep on the console sounded, "Yes?" Dearka asked. A screen popped up and a man in an orange suit appeared, Dearka awaited the report on the progress of both ships. "The Shogun is beginning to receive their replacements. They will be done within the next 2 hours." Dearka nodded and then began to think, "All right, at the moment the enemy has completely dissapeared and he reinforcements have appeared correct?" "Yes, I was surprised to hear they'd moved so quickly, it had only been a week since Mendor and they suddenly showed up around here."

Dearka nodded but understood why it had been so quick, "Those ships probably have some extra propulsion that they don't use near islands, and Mendor is much closer than Orb or even Carpenteria is." "How do you figure they even made it from Cuba Carpenteria to Mendor anyhow?" "By Mobile suit I suppose, how is Oceana Carpenteria."

"Nothing's happened over there, but their prepared to give assistance whenever." Dearka nodded before finally saying, "All right well do me a favor and upgrade the propulsion on both ships if you can. I'd like to get to Orb as soon as possible after leaving." The worker nodded, "Voltaire has already been upgraded per Captain Joule's orders, we'll start to work on the Shogun too."

Dearka nodded as the worker signed off, "Yzak?" he then said as he noticed that it had been his orders. "Mir? Can you call up Captain Joule?" Miriallia turned around, "I can try..."

From her console she then looked through directories and sent a call for Yzak.

--------

That call woke Yzak up from his bed, but he shook his head and quickly answered. "Dearka? What is it?" "Did you send orders to upgrade my ship and the Shogun?"

"Yes, actually they were at request from Tad." "My dad...oh he doesn't want me to miss the wedding huh?"

Yzak nodded, "Yup, that's it exactly, he heard about how far you were and wanted to give you a little help."

Dearka sighed but understood, both knew he did not want to miss the wedding. "Oh, Yzak, I think I should tell you tha Shiho is going to be there too."

Yzak didn't respond for a moment, and Dearka grinned knowing why. "S-shiho, are you sure?" "Yup, she was requested by Menla, she's having her DOM repaired right now."

Dearka sighed, knowing that his friend needed to renew his friendship with Shiho. She was hurt, and Yzak felt similarly. Dearka then grinned, knowing that what he was about to do would endanger his well-being, but it was for his friends.

"Hey, why don't I connect you to her room?" Yzak paled but quickly gritted his teeth before shouting, "Dearka! Don't you da-" He never go to finish as the screen suddenly switched faces from Dearka to a brown haired woman in a red suit.

Her expression went from indifferent to annoyed, and then to angry all in a few seconds. They stared at each other, one in anger and the other with nervousness.

Finally Yzak spoke, "Good morning Lieutenant-" "It's afternoon."

Yzak froze again, not knowing what to say to that. "Are you so irresponsible now that I'm gone that you can't even get up in the morning?"

Yzak took a step back in surprise, he din't know if she was joking or being serious because her expression of slight anger was still there.

"Look..." Yzak started, "You're coming to the wedding right? We can catch up and talk there." "I'll see if my orders allow me..."

And so it came down to that. As subtle as it actually was, Yzak knew exactly what she meant by that. He would have to explain for that as well, but he wasn't sure how to, knowing that lying wasn't an option.

"If that will be all Captain..." She saluted and then the screen turned off.

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Wes, Trent, Ikros, and Peter were relaxing at the port city of Mendor. They tried to use as much as their leave as they could before the next mission came up.

"Man this is the life!" Ikros said as he stretched on a chair in a restaurant. "I miss being a civillian sometimes." Trent whispered, feeling very relaxed for the first time in a long time. Wes patted his friend on his back before he said, "I know what you mean, but someone's gotta do this job."

"1st call for Homura launching, 1st Call!" A voice over the intercom called out. It was Cassidy and a quiet groan passed through the group of pilots. "Time to fight again..." Peter said as he stood up, but Trent smiled, "Actually, I think we won't hae too much fighting right now."

Wes and the other two looked at Trent strangely before he continued, "There's a wedding soon, between Kira and Lacus. It's going to be held in Orb." "Trent, do you actually know those people?"

Trent nodded at Wes's question, "My mother was Representative Cagalli's nanny, I used to play with her when we were younger. Along with the fact that Captain Mwu La Fllaga was my teacher and lead pilot when I first got out."

"Lucky son-of-a-bitch..." Ikros murmured with a smile. As they moved back to the ship, Ikros asked, "So have you met Athrun?" Trent nodded, "I know him, but I haven't seen him recently after the last battle."

The four pilots walked back to the Homura. Just as it began to leave, a voic spoke through the intercom. "Pilots Yucker, Baxter, Sethens and Geral; please go to Captain Joules office."

The four were already suited up, and moved over to the office in their uniforms. Yzak met them with a salute, "All right, I'm gonna be quick abou this..." a screen then appeared behind Yzak's body, showing a map of the Indonesian islands, or part of the Orb Union.

"A number of council members and their spouses will be touching down in Orb in a few weeks." A small line curved down through the image as Yzak continued, "I can't tell you how easy it could be for this transport to be taken down by sniper fire as its landing. Their only high ranking pilots will be in the Gundam Strike Freedom and the Mobile Suit Gaia."

Yzak sighed as the lights came back on, "Listen we're not going to rush there, besides that I hear that we'll be meeting up with another group, Elthman's group. We'll keep up with them for the rest of the trip, but we'll probably have to wait for them at some point."

Yzak then sat down behind his desk before sighing, "The minute we get to Orb, we'll be launching to space alongside a couple of Dearka's soldiers, we'll meet up the transport outside of the Earth's atmosphere."

---------------

A week after, there had been no attacks and no damage done to each side. "Captain Dearka, we have another hour before we are forced to shut down the boosters." Dearka nodded at Neire before answering, "Be sure to use them as much as possible without causing damage, I'd like to get there as soon as humanly possible."

Neire nodded before returning to her post beside Miriallia. The Shogun and the Voltaire were making rapid progress in their travel. They were already three-fourths of the way there. "Sir we should be meeting up with the Homura by the time we turn off our boosters." Miriallia called back from her screen, "Good, we'll be better off with those numbers. I hear Yzak picked up a good team of pilots."

Dearka sighed with a smile on his face, he'd been meaning to meet up with one of those pilots for some time now. Ever since Menla had told him about her brother's skill behind the controls of a mobile suit, he'd been meaning to get someone like that into his squadron. So far, he felt that his men were not the best of the best, and that they needed his help every now and then.

"Have we received any reports on the transportation of the council members?" Dearka asked suddenly. Miriallia nodded before answering, "Actually we've received a number of reports that you were supposed to read over when you returned to your office, should I bring them up now?"

Dearka shook his head, "No, could you just tell me what they're basically about?" "One is giving orders towards preparation for space combat, another is suggesting caution when dealing with the new enemy factions…oh! And I've received word that Ian and First officer Neire are to receive Mobile suits. They're to be part of the attack force from now on."

Dearka nodded, "I see, well be sure to tell Ian to start sharpening his skills with piloting. Neire, I want you to work on that too. I might have to choose another First officer, sorry." Neire looked over her shoulder and smiled, "I understand Captain, orders are orders."

Later that day, Dearka was sitting reading through his reports. "So Ian is getting a Gouf, and Neire is getting a DOM, a nice upgrade from their spots." He then began to look through some other reports about the transportation. He learned that he would need to check for the air-tightness of each and every mobile suit. He'd need to protect the transport in case of an attack. "Of course, they'd decide to put every single passenger on only ONE transport, making it easier for the enemy to take them out."

Dearka sighed, knowing that his father and mother were going to be on the ship only worried him. At that moment there was a knock on his door. It opened to reveal Neire standing in front of him. "Hello Neire, what can I do for you?" "I was hoping that I could suggest a new First officer for you."

She then passed him a piece of paper, which he opened and then read. He then smiled, "And here I thought you hated her." "Not hated sir, I just didn't think she'd be useful in combat but she proved me wrong in the last fight. I also think that being a first officer will be a new and more useful experience for her. She might be able to deal with you more easily in the future." Dearka looked up and noticed Neire's smile, he then cleared his throat, "Well that's enough out of you…and thank you for your suggestion, I'll keep it in mind."

----------

"I trust that the scanning is complete now that we've been without interruptions for quite some time." Captain Qura stood beside a head scientist and looked over several other scientists working on three mechanical weapons, the stolen ones.

"Quite, our scanning has showed a number of traits that make these weapons different than others."

The head scientist then put up a screen showing the three weapons in a blueprint stage. "From what I've found, the Sniper rifle is quite accurate and also has a built in computer system made to increase the accuracy even more so. The shield is built to last and is able to fire three cannons shells at a time. And the Booster pack is small yet excellent with maneuverability due to its wingspan, it also has two small caches made for shells."

Qura sighed, "All of this is well known, but is there anything else?" The scientist also sighed, "Only that the three weapons use a massive amount of energy. In fact, although they have superiority in combat to many other mobile suits, they don't last very long and there doesn't seem to be anything special about them. The power they seem to use is overwhelming, I can't even believe that they were going to use such machines in the first place." Qura's frowned.

"I can't believe that," Qura then said, "The reports told us that these weapons would be some of the strongest." "They are strong, but they come with a high cost. The energy they use is too much, it really isn't worth mass producing."

Qura shook his head at the head scientists response. "Fine then, can you find a way to upgrade them at least?" The scientist nodded, "Easily, the things are too small as it is, we can upgrade them though to make them stronger and last longer."

Qura nodded, before walking away, "Good get to it!"

As he continued down the hallway, he shook his head. 'So it seems,' He started thinking, 'that the way they are now, we stand no chance against the Freedom and Justice…' He stopped walking and then looked forward. 'Hell, even those three from Carpenteria Cuba, although they weren't rookies, have been able to fight us off time and time again.'

Qura continued walking, he came up to a room where the three Extended were lying down fast asleep. 'We depend too much on these children…yet the coordinators are usually no older than this…'

Qura shook his head, 'And now, there's only a few more days before our next batch of extended are sent to us.'

-------------

"Captain Dearka, we are approaching the Homura. Captain Joule requests that you move over here and leave the ship to your first officer." Dearka nodded at Miriallia's call as she went back to work. "Well then 2nd Lieutenant Haww, the bridge is yours." Dearka was quick to get up and walk out as Miriallia stopped typing suddenly.

"DEARKA!" The said Captain ran as fast as he could towards the elevator leading to the hangar. As he entered and turned around, he grinned seeing Miriallia running straight towards him as the doors closed.

Dearka's smile stopped as he noticed that the elevator was starting to jerk up and down. "Uh-oh…"

Above him, Miriallia grinned as she suddenly heard Dearka's yell and the elevator slam into the bottom. She then patted her hands and walked back to the bridge……while biting her nails.

She knew how to be a First officer; however she'd obviously never had to do that job until today. She'd been so pensive on that situation, that she didn't realize that much of the crew was waiting for her at the entrance to the bridge.

When she did realize, she jumped back in surprise. "Ma'am what are your orders?"

Miriallia looked up to see that it was Neire asking, she was trying to hint something. 'Orders?...I give orders?...Oh!' Miriallia was finally back when she decided to start ordering around.

"Prepare to launch Captain Dearka and his Gunner Zaku, send out an escort with him as well. Match speed with the Homura and signal the Shogun to do the same. We'll be floating beside them until we reach Orb."

There was a sudden flurry of steps as all the crewmen went about their duties. Neire immediately saluted and went to take Mir's spot on the bridge, leaving Miriallia to wonder where she was sitting for a moment. She then spotted Dearka's chair, and before she knew it she was sitting on it wondering what new orders she'd have to give.

She was brought away from her train of thought, when she realized that the chair she sat on smelled like Dearka.

----------------

The black Gunner Zaku landed inside of the Homura, and the escort GINN's quickly turned around and returned to their ship. Dearka quickly got out of his mobile suit and was slowly brought down by the wire attached to the cockpit.

"Captain Elsman sir!" A worker stopped and saluted to which Dearka returned. "The Pilots room is over there sir if you wish to change." The worker pointed in a direction and Dearka followed after nodding to the worker.

Once inside, Dearka changed from his pilots uniform to his white Captain uniform. After that he walked out of the room…and bumped into someone.

"What the?" Dearka and Wes got a good look at each other. "HOLY!" Wes said as he jumped back in surprise. Both were stuck, not knowing what to say to the other. Finally, Wes saluted, "It's…a pleasure to meet you Captain Dearka…" He stammered while Dearka slowly saluted back.

The two "twins" had finally met.

----------------------------------------

Well that's that, I hope that was interesting for you. Now then, about those extra characters…help me….please….help me. I'm running out of ideas fast, of course that's probably because of the finals. Anyhow, I'll keep working on it AFTER I have some character ideas, I just can't think of anything for characters right now.

Well thank you for listening to my rant, please review when possible.

Oh and if your wondering about giving a new character, just put it on as a review and that will be enough. Be sure to put on:

Name

Hair Color

Type of Human

National Affiliation

Citizenship if different to above

Military Affiliation if possible

Job-(Pilot, journalist, helmsman, etc.)

Type of Mobile Suit if pilot

And background information.

And if I don't see you the rest of the day, Good afternoon, Good evening, and Good Night.


	8. Battle in the Stars

Sorry for being late!

A couple of new characters, maybe a few surprises and a lot of action. Well, it is just before the wedding of our good Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, right?

Clyne Faction:

Lieutenant Chris Price: A pale face, with brown hair and grey eyes. He was one of the youngest pilots ever to take off in a Gundam since the legends of Amuro Ray. A coordinator from Orb, he flew straight into the battle of Jachin Due in order to avenge the friends he failed to save; Asagi, Juri, and Mayumi. He was fifteen when he battled in Jachin Due, and could only be stopped by the Providence, piloted by Rau La Creuset. He survived and stayed in the Clyne faction, working to develop new mobile suits. He helped in the design of the Strike Freedom and took part in the battle of Messiah. Today he is the personal bodyguard and escort of Lacus Clyne; he is 22 and pilots the rebuilt Freedom with a grey and white armor.

Zaft/Plant:

Captain Halk Tseoyok: A 21 year old with orange-red hair, brown eyes and pale skin. One of the most feared coordinators since the second war. He was a strong follower of Gilbert Dullandal and was also a friend to Shinn Asuka. He was quick to move up in ranks under Dullandal and piloted a red and purple Zaku Phantom into battle. Under Lacus' command he is still a strong Dullandal supporter, and wishes nothing more than to see her and all other destroyers of Gilbert dead. He also never takes an order from Lacus directly. The only thing that saved him from a court-martial was Lacus sending the order under the name of another councilmember. Halk holds no hatred towards naturals, and has made many friends among them; his grudges are aimed only at Lacus and her friends.

Orb:

Ensign Tyler Jeris: 18 year old Natural pilot with blonde hair and blue eyes. A loyal follower of the ideals of both Uzumi and Cagalli Yula Athha, he also holds great respect for Athrun Zala. After the second war, he began to doubt that the peace would last, and decided to enlist against the wishes of his friends and his family. In time his girlfriend and his best friend joined in after him. He is considered one of the best natural rookie pilots, and has been placed in the Triple Threat Unit for that reason. He pilots a silver and green Murasame.

2nd Lieutenant Nara Kyzan: 16 year old coordinator pilot with brown hair and green eyes. Another pilot of the Triple Threat Unit, she is good friends with Jeris and his best friend. However, she recently started a relationship with Jeris and is nervous on how to move on. She joined not only to keep Tyler safe, but to make sure that she could stop anymore casualties like that of her sister from occurring. Kindhearted and good, she tries to help all people and hesitates every time she pulls the trigger. Her murasame colors are pink and light-blue.

Captain Karus Shven: 18 year old coordinator pilot with black hair and black eyes. He is the leader of the Triple Threat Unit and is also Tyler's best friend and rival. He came to ORB at a young age and quickly befriended the other two. His skills allowed him to realize that he was the best pilot out of the three, and he uses his mobile suit in order to ensure that each and every man makes it back alive. As a result, his Murasame is always in constant need of repair, and he has been given a personal mechanic to handle the problem each time. His color is gold and crimson.

Zala Foundation:

Lieutenant Suri Gren Baker: A tan skinned, black haired and green eyed coordinator. She is 23 and is experienced in the ways of Mobile Suit combat. Her best friend, who she considers her sister, has been fighting alongside her. Hoping to bring about a more peaceful world, and to overthrow the naturals from power; Suri fights hard in order to do her duty. Her mobile suit is built and named after a legendary model, known as the Heavyarms Gundam.

Lieutenant Tira Jeranesech: A fair skinned coordinator with blonde hair and brown eyes. She is 22 and is the sister of Suri. She is known as the other half to Suri and also as TJ, and it is impossible to imagine one without the other. She is a bit more rash than her friend and is known to sometimes jump into situations without thinking, and she usually pays for it. Tira pilots another legendary mobile suit, one more powerful than her friend's known as the Wing Zero.

S.E.E.D.-

A factor that determines the course of a species' evolution. The existence of the SEED factor has yet to be proven, and it remains a subject of intense controversy in scientific circles. But in theory, those who possess the SEED factor have the ability to advance to the next stage of human evolution - an ability unrelated to whether the carrier is a Natural or a Coordinator

Up in space, the shuttle carrying several council members had already left Aprilius 1, and was on its way directly to earth. It was escorted by several Zaku's and the Eternal. One specific Zaku stood out from the rest; a Zaku Phantom. Covered with two shields over its shoulders, and a standard Gouf whip, it's power was far above the other Zaku's and GINN's.

It's pilot was Commander Halk Tseoyok, a coordinator and one who was not happy to be here. 'So close, and yet I can't even point my gun in that direction.' His eyes were focused on the image of the shuttle, knowing that many people were on board but the most important were Kira and Lacus.

'Damn…' The shuttle moved on in peace with several escorts everywhere. Inside of the shuttle, it was a bit quiet with a few murmurs coming from here and there. Kira and Lacus were sitting by each other peacefully, while the Elthman's and the Joules spoke to each other as well as they could.

"Is Dearka well?"

Tad smiled, "I'm told he is; and he's already made it to Orb."

"Then Yzak is there as well," Ezaria said with a smile. Both parents and members of the council were happy to know their children were safe. But they knew little else about what was going on in their lives.

The shuttle moved on peacefully, under watchful eyes and it moved closer and closer to the blue planet. Down on Earth, there was an interesting situation occurring.

'It's like looking into a mirror,' they both thought at the same time. Dearka and Wes had finally met each other, and they were now stunned at how they resembled each other so much.

There weren't any other people who noticed the encounter, but it seemed very silent inside the hangar at that moment. It was then that Dearka grinned, catching Wes off-guard once again. "Well! Now this is a surprise!" Dearka was already slapping Wes on his back.

Wes couldn't help but grin in return, but he couldn't say anything in response. Dearka continued, "So, I suppose you're the one who pilots the Saviour, am I right?" Wes nodded in response, looking over to his mobile suit. Now powered-down, it's black and red colors could not be seen.

"Well I'm sure I'll see just how good you are when we're up there." Wes looked over at Dearka in surprise, "You're coming too?"

Dearka nodded, pointing to his black Zaku Gunner. "I pilot as well, but I probably won't be taking that thing up to space." And with that Dearka turned and left Wes in the hangar.

------

The Captains and Athrun met up at Yzak's office. "It's good to see you again Dearka," Yzak said as he shook his friend's hand. Dearka smiled in return, and looked over at Athrun and Menla.

Athrun smiled a bit, "I suppose this isn't a social call though," Yzak grimaced in return before shaking his head. "No," He said, "I need to talk to you all about the next few days when we reach Orb."

"It's not as simple as 'get there, launch, and then come back?'" Dearka asked as he let go of his friends hand. The white haired Captain shook his head, "They're asking us to be debriefed a few hours prior to our launch, they want to know what the situation is like."

"Do we really have time for that?" Menla spoke up finally, truly wondering if the situation would allow for such a luxury as a formal update. "It'll be quick, and it's not only for us. We are to give some time for our soldiers and pilots to get to know each other before they go up." Yzak sighed after he said this, and then leaned back on his chair.

"We'll be staying together after this assignment, teamwork and familiarity are very key to what will occur in the future. We need to get used to it and so do they."

The meeting continued for sometime in this form, they also organized their report in order to prepare for what they would be saying in front of several members of the Orb Council. Cagalli would also be listening in, however her power would be swayed temporarily due to her current state.

Hours later, they reached Onogoro and immediately disembarked with their second-in-commands in tow. The last orders given to the crewmembers were also to disembark and rest up after preparing all the mobile suits necessary for the launch that would occur later that day.

In the cafeteria of the base near port, Wes, Trent, and Ikros were on their way to get a bite to eat before the big mission. At the moment, they were talking about their love lifes, "I mean seriously, don't you guys want a girl that would be there for you and wait for you at home?" Wes asked with a serious expression.

The other two looked at Wes, then each other, before shaking their heads. "I'd be too worried about her and busy to actually be able to take care of her the way she would deserve." Said Ikros while Trent answered, "I don't think there's actually any girl for me, and even if there were I'd be worrying her by risking my life everyday while I'm in the battlefield."

"Man I swear…" Wes said before heading out to get in line for food. The other two waited at a table, knowing their friend would get some for the whole group, including Peter when he got there. "You think he's being serious?" Trent asked Ikros suddenly, before looking back to where Wes stood in line. Ikros nodded, "He is the only one among us who actually has a girlfriend; he would know a bit about that kind of thing."

Trent nodded, before leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. "What are you thinking about Trent?" Ikros asked looking at Trent suspiciously. Trent chuckled nervously before looking back up, dodging the question entirely.

Trent's thoughts were interrupted as a big pile of food was suddenly placed in the middle of the table they sat. "Whoa!" Ikros said as he looked over the 2 feet high assortments of different foods. "You expect us to eat all of that?" Trent said with as much astonishment as Ikros.

Wes shook his head with a smile, "I'm sure we'll be joined by others fairly soon…" As if on cue, two people in Zaft uniforms walked into the cafeteria. The two spotted the other three pilots sitting down and eating and walked over to them. When they stopped in front of the table, the three looked up at them. The girl saluted as she introduced herself, "Lieutenant Commander Shiho Hashenfuss." The soldier beside her shook his head as he introduced himself, "I'm Commander Jaken Greyson, think we can eat here?"

Wes grinned as he introduced himself, and the others did so as well. As they sat eating, they began to chat about what had been going on. "Oh, I patrolled space for a while, I haven't been earth-side for some time now…" Shiho said with some contempt in her voice that the others decided not to ask about.

"It's been an interesting two months on the earth, I just hope that the battles don't reach all the way up to space." Jaken said. Ikros nodded, "The plants don't need anymore problems, they've suffered enough." "Well, so has the earth…" Wes said quietly.

"Hey! I thought this was supposed to be to get to know each other, we should be at least a little bit happy!" Trent said suddenly as he noticed the mood was about to change. Shiho smiled gratefully before ruffling Trent's hair, "A bit young to be an ace pilot wouldn't you say?" Trent blushed at Shiho's comment. Wes grinned, "Maybe he's young, but he's got skill!" Ikros grinned as well while patting Trent on the back.

"So, think we'll run into anyone while we're up there?" Wes asked suddenly. The table was quiet for a small while, when someone behind him answered. "I think we'll be fine, no matter what, after all, the captains are coming up with us too." Everyone looked up to see Peter standing with a small plate of food, he introduced himself before sitting down and beginning to eat.

"You know you're not going up there Pete." Trent said sadly, to which Peter nodded. "I know, I don't have a space modified Gouf. I can't go up into space yet." Peter was not sad at all though, but he was anxious. "Just make sure you all come back safely from this battle, all right?"

The others smiled and nodded, agreeing to watch each others back while up in space. Then the last two pilots that they would meet that day decided to show up by their table. In fact, they were the pilots with the least amount of battle experience thus far; Ian Greyheim, and Neire Izu.

Wes and Trent were feeling a bit overwhelmed being the only ones of their armies in that table, but even more for Wes since he was on an Orb base. Wes sighed in defeat, he wondered if he was the only person who believed in the alliance while inside of the Earth Forces.

'No,' He thought suddenly, 'Last hope squadron…they also believe in this alliance…especially ever since…' Wes then shook his head suddenly. He didn't want to remember that, not at the point right before a mission where he was trying to get to know the rest of the pilots. He took notice that Neire was deliberately trying hard not to look towards him. He could do little to remedy, knowing that there were some Zaft soldiers who just couldn't stand being near an Earth Forces soldiers, no matter what.

"Sirs?" The entire table looked up to see three young soldiers, dressed up in Orb uniforms. Two 18 year old boys and a 16 year old girl, all saluting the table and the pilots that sat by it. "We were told to inform you that the launch will be occurring within two hours."

"And you are?" Shiho said quickly while she got up, "I'm Karus Shven, the leader of the Triple Threat Unit." Said the boy with brown hair and black eyes. "I'm Tyler Jeris, and this is Nara Kyzan." The girl bowed after being introduced. "All right, well we'll suit up and head towards the mobile suit launch site then. Two hours?" Ikros asked, while he walked away from the table. Karus nodded steadily, before he turned around and headed on to work on the rest of his duties before the launch.

--------

"Cagalli?" Athrun asked suddenly as he saw his wife bend over quickly, as if in pain. "Cagalli? What's wrong?" Athrun half-shouted as he ran over to her and kneeled down. The meeting had just ended, with the decision that all of the Captains minus Menla would be taking off with the rest of the pilots launching that day.

The meeting had gone over well, and there were no issues that needed to be discussed with caution. But then after leaving, Cagalli had felt pains and could no longer keep them to herself. Athrun, unsure of what to do, began to panic slightly, unable to think coherently.

It was actually up to Dearka to put an end to it. "Cagalli, should we call an ambulance?" Cagalli, in a last effort to preserve her strength, tried to stand up on her own. She quickly bent back down in agony, as Athrun quickly held her up and did his best to comfort her.

"Hey you!" Yzak suddenly pointed at a random council member walking towards them with his cell-phone, "Use that phone to call for an ambulance right now!" Under Yzak's forceful voice, the higher-up member complied immediately. "We'll go with you Athrun, don't worry." Menla said quickly.

Athrun looked up at that moment, noticing that everyone felt the same way. His face took a serious place, and then he said, "No." Everyone looked surprised at this, and then he continued, "The mission needs for almost every Captain to go. I can't and neither can Menla…" He then looked up at Dearka and Yzak, "But you two can, and you need to get going for those men."

-------

"Launch preparations are complete, prepare for take-off in T-minus 200 seconds." Wes, Trent, and Ikros were all on the launching rails, preparing for their first space mission together. "Hey Trent!" Ikros said suddenly, to which Trent woke up from his daze, "Don't worry about space, we'll show you the ropes."

Trent smiled gratefully, and nodded, "Thanks guys…" So three pilots were already up in space; they were the Triple Threat group. They were sent in order to look around before allowing the rest to take off, and then would follow Jaken, Neire, and Shiho. At the end, Ian, Dearka, and Yzak would end the series of take offs.

There was already a squadron of Murasame's up in space, and had been up there for more than hour, led by Rekos. They were the main force; take that and add it to the ace pilots and to the already moving escort of the shuttle; the group would be a force to be reckoned with. But Wes still didn't miss the fact that there had been no word from the Earth Federation in their sending some back-up.

Wes didn't feel like he would hear the end of it; but he also felt like he wouldn't stop talking about it. He only hoped that he was actually wrong, he really wanted to be proven wrong in the trust that the Earth Forces showed.

"T-minus 30 seconds!" Wes woke up from his doze, and he quickly prepared himself for the gravity forces that he would feel taking off. 'Let's hope for a miracle then…' were his last thoughts as the 10 second mark came.

"10-9-8-7-6…start ignition-4-3-2-1-Launch!"

The launcher began to move on the rails, and it wasn't long before it picked up speed. And as it sped up more and more, Wes felt himself begin to feel crushed against the seat of his cockpit. Then, the railings moved upward and Wes felt even more crushed, and dizzy. 'It's been a long time since I've been up in space…hope I'm not rusty…'

He felt a sudden shake at different intervals, "Passing through the sub-layers of the atmosphere…" He whispered to himself. He needed to remember that in order to calm himself of anything going wrong. 'This is routine, it'll be fine.'

He opened his eyes finally as he saw his mobile suit move from a blue background to a black background filled with holes. "Space…" He immediately noticed a small blinking light inside his cockpit, and immediately pressed it. A sudden shake occurred and then his mobile suit was able to move freely. The launch rockets he'd just jettisoned were now on their way back to the ocean in earth.

"Commander Baxter and team, welcome back to space." The voice heard was that of Tyler Jeris, the second-in-command of the Triple Threat Unit. Tyler's face soon appeared on all of the monitors, "We'll be here for a while, but Karus and Nara decided to move on ahead while we wait for the rest."

--------

"There's the shuttle…" said a voice through her com-system. "Copy that, preparing to charge forward." "Do what you can in order to allow them to survive; their destruction is a last resort…"

"Understood…"

Out in the darkness of space, several lights blinked on and began to move in an irregular fashion. The eyes of a Zaft Mobile suit. And then, two mobile suits were clearly seen after their Phase Shift armor came online. A white mobile suit with a green bulb on its chest and wings of seemingly steel feathers. It carried a double-barreled beam weapon on its back, a red shield in its left arm, and an automatic firing weapon on it's right. The other was a blue mobile suit, with four long-range gatling guns, two on each arm. It also held several hidden missile pods and another set of short-range gatling guns in it's chest.

"This is Suri Baker, moving out!" "TJ, following…all Zala fighters keep up with us!"

The two mobile suits boosted forward, one more than the other. And it was followed by several other Ginn's, Dinn's, and Zaku's of different classes and types. All were colored a deep black and purple, to symbolize the clothing of Chairman Zala.

"Take down all escort fighters, and try to leave the shuttle intact unless there is no other choice available to us. Remember we're closer to the Earth's gravity, which means we can easily kick an enemy fighter into it in order to save time from fighting it."

Indeed the shuttle would reach the Earth in 2 hours in it's current speed, but if it moved at full throttle…it would be there in 45 minutes. The Zala fighters weren't interested in allowing that to happen.

And neither were the extra eyes that were keeping an eye on both the Zala fighters, and the Shuttle. Still trying to decide what side they would join…

-------

Above the transport, Halk sat in his Zaku Phantom with a serious face. "Hey Commander?" Halk turned to see another pilot come on his viewer, "Did you hear that we'd be receiving some extra help?"

Halk turned, happy internally for the change of subject, "I'd heard that we'd be definitely receiving support from some Earth forces soldiers, as well as…Orb…" "Begging your pardon sir, but you really need to get over them…Orb is not a nation-" "-Of great evil! I know I've heard it before, but still…"

"Commander, that's enough for now." Halk nodded at his commanding officer, and looked up at him just in time to see his mobile suit explode. Halk's eyes widened only for a second before he quickly brought his shield up and blocked another stray of fire heading his way. The force nearly pushed him back but he knew enough to stay in place, "Long range fire, probably gatling gun! All Mobile Suits shields up and eyes open."

The entire escort reacted quickly, which saved several of them from certain death. "Council Shuttle, I order you to go into emergency battle mode and move full throttle towards the Earth, we'll keep up"

Halk gave orders left and right, while inside the shuttle the members saw everything. Kira sighed knowing that this would happen, and knowing that he was unable to do anything to help. The Freedom had been sent secretly to Orb under orders by Lacus Clyne. Kira understood her desire to be beside him, as he felt the same; but now it was possible that it would endanger their lives.

Over on the edge of Earth, a message came onto Wes' screen. "The shuttle is under attack, we need support immediately!" Wes looked up at the orange haired man and nodded, "A squadron of Murasame's is already on their way, the rest of us will be there shortly."

The message ended and at that moment Dearka, Ian, and Yzak showed up. "What happened?" Dearka said as Wes transformed and flew away at full throttle. "The shuttle is under attack, we've been requested to lend support!"

The reaction was instant. Each mobile suit immediately boosted forward and flew towards the shuttles location, hoping to be able to be there in time to protect the many members inside.

"I knew this would happen!" Dearka yelled through his com as he flew faster and faster. "Captain Elsman, please sir, if you damage your Zaku Warrior you won't stand a chance!" Ian yelled after him as he tried to keep up in his Space Gouf. "Calm down Dearka, let the faster ones handle it while we get there!" Yzak then said.

Dearka finally looked up and saw that Wes, Trent and Tyler were transformed and far ahead of all of them.

-------

The battle above the shuttle had already taken a turn for the worst. Several of the Zaku's and Ginn's that had been fighting against the sudden assault were already destroyed. Halk and a few other men were the only ones that were still alive, and they knew it wouldn't last as they saw that the many attackers were actually coming in closer.

It was at that point that a Zaku tried to come in from below the ship to destroy a Zaft mobile suit, but was caught around the waist by a whip. Halk charged it immediately and cut the purple Zaku in two. The explosion shook the shuttle, but no damage was caused.

"Their good…" Halk said cringing. He had heard very little about the Zala foundation, but he knew that they were all coordinators. That much was enough to tell him that this battle would be difficult even with reinforcements.

Halk looked up to see several sources of gatling fire, "Is that it?" He said unconsciously. He then fired without a second thought towards the source, and the gatling fire halted immediately.

"Sir! It's coming-" The soldier never had a chance to finish as it was destroyed by the gatling guns that were keeping them down. The mobile suit was heading their way, and Halk had a clear sight of it. He fired his beam gun, but missed most of his shots on the fast moving mobile suits. Anything that hit bounced off slightly thanks to the Phase Shift armor.

It was then that the rest of his comrades were shot and exploded. Halk was thrown away from the shuttle by the explosion, but quickly regained his footing and fired away again at the blue mobile suit. He then quickly took out his blade and slashed towards it.

Suri backed off quickly, and hit a switch that turned on two long beam sabers in between the two gatling guns on each hand. She was about to charge forward, but stopped when she saw an emblem on the shoulder of the Phantom Zaku.

"Zaft's Thunder…That's Halk Tsenoyok?" She had little time to verify because of a beam passing over her mobile suits head. She looked to the side to see several Murasame's heading in her direction. "Shit! Orb reinforcements are here!" She'd nearly forgotten about Halk completely, and as he charged it seemed as if it would be the end for her.

But a white mobile suit suddenly blocked the attack with its red shield. There was no small celebration as the blue and white Gundams were immediately shot at and pushed away. They flew off in order to regroup with the rest of their comrades while Halk stayed behind awhile and watched them.

He looked over in disgust, seeing several Orb Murasames flying past him and into the battle. He noticed a pink and blue one fly behind them, and a gold and crimson one transform and stop in front of him.

"Commander Tseoyok...I'm afraid your reputation precedes you..." Karus said sadly, to which Halk angrily threw back, "I don't need no Orb Captain telling me that!" He then charged off towards the space battlefield. "Yes, you're reputation precedes you completely..."

Karus then transformed and flew after Halk. Nara was battleing the Zaku's she was up against. She fired but for the most part missed her targets. 'Damn it...I just can't shoot...' Her mind was filled with thoughts of her sister.

She was suddenly hit on her shield by a number of bazooka shots. She screamed as she was pushed back fiercely by the explosion, and fired towards her assailants.

One Zaku was hit on the chest, and it exploded. "...sorry..." She said as she regained her footing and begn to fight again, doing her best to not kill her enemies.

The Heavyarms and the Wing Zero were away from the current front of the battlefield. "Thanks for the save TJ..." Suri said as she looked at the retreating shuttle. "Suri," TJ started, "We've got a Half-hour limit to this battle. We need to destroy the shuttle if we don't capture it by then."

Suri nodded, "This won't be easy, but send the mobile suits straight at the shuttle. Shoot the engines, no beams!" She then noticed several small lights heading towards the shuttle. "Be ready for more enemies."

Suri then charged ahead, while TJ looked on confused before issuing the orders.

-------

"Damn! He actually caught up with us!" Trent yelled out suddenly. Each pilots attention was pulled to the red Zaku III that had been able to keep up with them.

Ikros smiled, but there were no other words passed between them. Wes led the group of Tyler, Trent and Ikros passed the shuttle and towards the battle in space.

Ikros pushed on to a side and fired his machine gun at a Zaku II with a beam cannon. The Zaku II tried to fire but was too late as a bullet hit it's fueselage. "I'll take that!" Ikros said as he grabbed the beam cannon and immediately equipped it.

He began to fire at the Zaku II's that he was fighting against. His shots came at small intervals between each shot for a while. A red beam would occassionally come from just below the shuttle, and would wipe out an entire squadron of Zaku's or Ginn's.

Trent and Tyler flew alongside each other and fired as they flew past squadrons of charging Ginn's. They both stopped suddenly in front of a seemingly endless wall of Ginn's. They were transformed and pulled back while firing at the same time.

Trent turned and barely dodged a metallic blade that had been drawn by a Ginn. Trent immediately pulled out his own beamblade and stabbed the Ginn.

Tyler fired his beam guns but more and more Ginn's came to attack. "Damn!" Yelled out Tyler as his shield was suddenly hit by a missile and exploded. "My left arm's unusable!" Tyler yelled when he realized how much damage had just been done.

They backed into each other facing several squadrons charging at them. Their lives flashed before their eyes as several beams suddenly broke through the heads and weapon arms of some Ginn's.

On the Ginn side, the pilots were panicking at the sudden shot that had come from seemingly nowhere. As they turned, their sights were usually destroyed along with their arms, either by beams or by the flashing of red beamsabers.

Trent quickly grabbed Tyler by his bad arm and dragged him towards the hole that had now been created in the surrounding groups of Ginn's. As he flew through it, he noticed their savior was actually a black and grey mobile suit, familiar to any who had been up-to-date during the first war.

The three mobile suits flew away, and Trent opened the com-channel, "Chris? It's good to see you again..." "You too Trent," Chris' face came out on the viewer-screen.

"Still being the bodyguard?" "Hey it's a good job, it pays nice!" The Rebuilt old version of the Freedom immediately turned and locked on to several targets and fired. "I'll see you on Earth, get over to the Triple Threat Unit, he'll be fine with them." Chris was talking about Tyler in his current condition. The Freedom then flew away and headed straight into battle.

Wes fired a beam towards a Zaku II charging towards the shuttle. It exploded quickly and then Wes fired his twin beamcannons towards a squadron destroying the group.

He immediately ducked under a swing from a Ginn's sword, before pulling out his own beamsaber. He sliced through the arm of the Ginn before cutting through the waist of the Mobile Suit, destroying it completely.

He immediately aimed his beam gun towards a specific point but his eyes widened briefly after he'd done it. He brought his shield up and blocked several bullets from the gatling guns. The assault never actually ceased, so Wes began to charge forward as well.

He brought out his beamsaber and slashed through a Zaku unlucky enough to get close to him. Wes then ran though another Zaku before charging at the blue mobile suit.

He was stopped short by a sudden charged beam from some direction. He moved his black and red mobile suit back and the blue mobile suit did so likewise.

Wes looked up at the source, and his eyes widened, "Destiny..." His last encounter with the Destiny pilot was not one he liked to remember. He nearly didn't survive the battle he once had with him, but still he did.

The blue mobile suit almost got past Wes in his moment of remembrance...almost. Wes grabbed hold of the mobile suits head with his shield arm, before cracking a dent by punching it in the face. The Destiny then charged straight at Wes and Wes pushed his Savior to do so likewise.

Over by the shuttle, Halk had noticed the encounter that was begnning to occur between the Destiny and Savior. "Shinn..." He whispered, "What are you doing?" "What was that?"

Halk turned suddenly, seeing two new mobile suits coming into action. "Captain Joule, Captain Elsman...It's good to see you!" Dearka smirked at the answer he received from Halk.

"Status!" Yzak yelled as he charged past the shuttle keeping one eye out for his mother. "Sir! The enemy has been pushed back, but there is a small squad heading this way! Their being led by two of the stronger mobile suits. Here is the data I have on them!"

As the data transfer began to pass towards their mobile suits, both pairs of eyes widened. "Yzak! Isn't this?-" "It's just a legend! It can't be!"

"Sirs?" Halk said confused, 'Sure their strong, but...what could be so special about them?' "Forget it Halk," Yzak said, "We've got more important business to handle."

Dearka then noticed a red Zaku fighing off several mobile suits coming in the direction of the shuttle. "Commaner Halk, I believe that Red Mobile suit could use your assistance...report later!"

Halk saluted on the vidscreen before turning his Zaku Phantom around and bursting straight at the Red Zaku III. "Red Zaku...looks like a new model...it can't be..." Halk whispered as he drew closer and closer. He fired a beam shot straight at an enemy that was about to cleave the Zaku in two. "Ikros...Is that you?" "Halk?"

"Good to see you..." Halk quickly fired passed Ikros' shoulder, destroying an enemy behind him. Ikros however, didn't flinch, and threw a grenade past Halk's shoulder. The blast blew away a Ginn before it was torn up by passing Murasame's.

The two quickly turned around and fired on their opposite sides. "I thought you'd join at some point!" Halk said suddenly as he fired several beam shots at oncoming Ginns. "And I never thought you'd be protecting Lacus Clyne!" Said Ikros as he fired several cannon shots at his own problems.

"Shinn is here too...did you know?" Ikros looked surprised at Halk's statement and immediately looked towards the location of the Destiny. Now it was doing battle with the Savior. "Looks like Wes is getting to know him as well."

"Wes is Earth Forces right?" "Yeah, what of it?" "He's a pretty good pilot for a natural..." "I'm not so sure he is a natural..."

Halk turned in surprise, "What?" An explosion sounded beside them and they looked in time to see the white and blue mobile suits coming their way. "Later, we still have to protec that shuttle for 20 more minutes!"

Inside the said shuttle, several of the council members were looking outside of their windows, witnessing he battle. "Chris is here..." Kira said, "And so are Dearka and Yzak..." Lacus said. The two kept their eyes on the battlefield, both sorry that they could not help.

It was then that a light came to their attention. Two mobile suits battling it out a little far away from them. "The Destiny..." Kira said slowly. He was battling against the Savior with a fierce strength, and the Savior pilot was fighting back just as fiercely.

It was then that the shuttle shook suddenly. The passengers yelled out in surprise as a com came through. "The shuttle…it's been damaged..."

Dearka and Yzak were having a fit at not covering all spots of the defense. The enemy had been able to send in a fairly large squad of enemies straight at the shuttle. It was more than the two could handle alone, so they soon sent out a call for help.

Trent and Chris were the only ones able to react to it, but they were far away from the shuttle itself. Wes tried but the Destiny pilot wouldn't let up. Wes fired his beam cannons, only to have them blocked and then have himself slashed at.

His mobile suits torso was hit and large mark was seen on it. Wes took that as his cue to run away quickly. "Too strong...he's just too strong!"

Wes wasted no time in flying off towards Earth, in hopes of joining up with several other pilots. But the Destiny wouldn't let him, and soon it flew up right in front of Wes with its blade held high.

Wes backed off and barely dodged the killing blow, but found himself unable to find any other way out of that situation. It was then, that several beams suddenly came smashing into the armor of the Destiny, pushing it aside.

Wes looked on in disbelief before he heard a voice, "Commander Baxter, we're sorry that we took so long." "James!"

Indeed it was James Badguirel of "Last Hope" leading that squadron and several other Windams into battle. "I was beginning to think the Earth Force heads would never send us back into battle!" said James as he flew up beside Wes. "Zak is here…well, he's actually all the way over there at the shuttle."

"Good to hear, let's get back in there then!" "Wait, but what about-?" "Just a scratch old buddy, I'll be fine."

Wes charged and James followed straight towards the shuttle, hoping that the Destiny would no longer bother them for a while. Meanwhile, Shinn was regaining his bearings from being assaulted so suddenly. When his Mobile Suit stopped spinning, he looked towards the shuttle to find that his target was heading there with several other mobile suits. "It'll be hard now…Luna!" The Destiny then charged straight towards the shuttle, with an extra mobile suit appearing from behind.

The Triple Threat Unit was doing well together, even with Tyler's mobile suit a bit damaged. "We just got here and already…" "Shut it Karus! I've got enough trouble to deal with!"

Still the three fought alongside each other, even Tyler using his beam-gun whenever possible. "You're not a coordinator…y-you just can't do these kinds of things easily!" Nara was the one that had spoken then and Tyler did not appreciate the words that were spoken. "That's enough!" Said a harsh voice as a red and gold Murasame transformed in front of them. It was Rekos, Trent's brother.

"The battles beginning to shift, we need to move back to the shuttle and help it along until it reaches the Earths atmosphere!" Rekos said no more as he transformed and moved quickly towards the shuttle, which was now surrounded by several explosions as the battle inched closer and closer to it.

The Triple Threat Unit immediately transformed and followed, with Tyler lagging behind somewhat. When Nara was about to ask what was wrong, Tyler fired a shot suddenly and hit a mobile suit above her. There was silence as the two continued through space straight at the shuttle, "You didn't take that…what I said seriously did you?" Nara asked concerning herself as she realized she'd belittled Tyler's skills as a natural. Tyler didn't answer, but he did speed up and fly past Nara as if to give her an answer. Nara cursed as she tried to catch up with him.

The battle was going on with several casualties on each side as usual. However, the Zala forces were being fought off rather well and the shuttle was almost close to home. "Zak! Good to see you!" Wes said as he transformed his mobile suit right beside his older friend. Zak nodded in reply before firing his weapon at an oncoming Phantom Zaku.

Zak's Impulse was in Aile form and his beam bounced off of one of the Phantom Zaku's shield easily. He was about to fire again when Wes shot it down with his beam cannons. "It's good to see you too Wes," He said happily before whispering, "I was wondering what those coordinators were doing with you." Wes sighed again before returning his eyes towards the battle.

He noticed four lights, two from one direction and two from the other, coming in towards the shuttle. He quickly saw them to be the stronger mobile suits of the entire attack force. "All fighters, alert! Leading MS' coming this way from opposite sides, be ready for difficult enemies.

'Wait a second…four?' He then looked over to where the Destiny was and spotted its partner. "Oh no!" "Wes?" Zak asked in surprise at his former subordinates words. "Another Impulse heading this way Zak, Sword form." "I see, so it's the original is it?"

Zak immediately brought out his beam saber in preparation for the battle, Wes did so as well keeping an eye on the Destiny and another on the blue mobile suit. He knew that the rest of his friends and comrades were also preparing themselves for the enemy's that truly mattered in this entire battle. 'Yet that white one hasn't done anything to show itself to be incredibly powerful, I wonder why?'

The white and blue mobile suits flew alongside each other and spoke to each other. "TJ, there's only five minutes left, you'd better be ready with that double-barrel…" TJ nodded at Suri's request. "I know, I'll be ready."

It was then that Wes fired his double beam cannons at the two, in order to try and separate them. It did little to help and he found himself quickly charging forward, still deciding on which enemy he would face. His eyes turned towards the Destiny in slight fear and his face was covered in sweat. As he looked at it, his heart beat rose and he could feel it pounding in his ears.

He then gave a loud yell as he charged straight at it. "Here I come Destiny, let's see how well I do!" His yell went by unnoticed but his charge was not. The Destiny immediately fired its beam cannon straight at Wes and Shinn's teeth gritted as he noticed that he missed completely.

Shinn and Wes went at each other without holding back. Wes had his beam saber out and immediately went for the cockpit, hoping to try and end the battle quickly. Shinn brought up his plasma shield and pushed him back before trying to bring the Destiny's hand on the mobile suit. It's palm brimming with destructive power.

Wes kicked it away quickly and tried to back off, but had felt a sudden shake as the Savior took hits from behind. Wes looked behind him to see the blue mobile suit heading his way, firing its gatling guns ferociously. "Damn it! I can't handle them both!" He yelled as he felt himself being propelled forward.

The Destiny's presence back to his mind, and he immediately faced forward while bringing on of his shoulder-cannons up, firing at the closing in Destiny. Unable to dodge, the Destiny lost its head by the sudden attack and was pushed back for a while. The Saviour then sped up and circled around in order to try and attack the blue mobile suit from behind.

Meanwhile, Zak was fighting against the other Impulse fighter. Luna was not pleased with this copy, "Damn it all, how could the Earth Forces get a hold of this machine?" She brought out both her Excalibur blades and tried to slice through the other Impulse with them.

Zak ducked under them and was able to cut off one the right arm for the other Impulse. It exploded after losing its power source so suddenly and the rest of the body was pushed back slightly, but it continued to fight. Luna then reached back and through a boomerang straight at Zak.

Zak was able to dodge it, but realized that he wasn't the real target. His eyes widened only slightly as he noticed it was heading straight for the shuttle. He gave a sigh of relief when the Red Zaku III blocked the attack with its shield, allowing the boomerang to be embedded in it.

Zak then turned and attacked again with his beamsaber. Similarly, Halk was fighting against the white mobile suit. He brought his beam down only to have it blocked by the White mobile suits shield, and then almost have himself cut. He was rescued by a sudden missile blast that forced the White mobile suit away.

Halk immediately looked behind him to see two space-gouf's and a DOM losing their launcher packs. "What the hell took you so long?" He heard Yzak yell suddenly. "Captain, sorry! The launch took a longer time than expected." "Well Lieutenant Hashenfuss we've got a lot of work to do."

Shiho, Neire and Ian had finally arrived to the battle but were very late. They did however go straight to work on fighting against the enemies and protecting the rest of the voyage of the shuttle.

"TJ!" TJ brought her head up at the sudden call of her name. "There's no time left, start setting up the equipment and fire!" She didn't answer as she began to set up the gun that would take her one minute to set up. Suri was back on her own battle against the Savior.

Still unwilling to give up, Wes dodged a sudden burst from the blue mobile suits gatling guns and brought his shield across the torso of the mobile suit. He then turned around and pulled back just in time to see the Saviors head covered by a mobile suits giant hand. The head exploded and Wes was sent on a sudden whirl.

Shinn grinned as a red seed appeared and exploded in his mind. His pupils became small and his grin widened, "Now lets finish this!" He charged and Wes could only back off more as he brought his beam cannon and tried to fire. It exploded after one was cut off by the blue mobile suit.

He fired the other one as he backed off more and more, with it he was able to tear off an arm carrying two of the four gatling guns for the blue mobile suit. But it wasn't enough, and soon that beam cannon was destroyed as well by the Destiny's beam gun.

Wes ran out of ideas when he saw an uncountable amount of missiles suddenly launch from hidden compartments of the blue mobile suit. He fired as much as he could and destroyed missiles as they came nearer but there were too many. He then charged towards the shuttle, just to be caught by one missile and then assaulted by the rest of them.

There was a large explosion and a cover from the resulting dust cloud. The Destiny and the blue mobile suit looked on, as well as Trent and Ikros. Something snapped within the two and they immediately charged towards the enemy. Ikros ripped the boomerang embedded in his shield and threw it, knowing that it wouldn't be charged with energy but it would be enough to get the two's attention.

As the boomerang passed between them, they looked up just in time to see Ikros firing his beam cannon straight at them. They pulled apart but were surprised by the sudden attack nonetheless. Trent then appeared seemingly out of nowhere and tried to cut the Destiny in two. Shinn dodged that attack as well and pulled away.

Ikros then noticed another Zaku below him, preparing to fire its own beam cannon. Ikros then turned his shield down and had his Tomahawk handle pop out from it. He pulled it out and immediately threw it towards the Zaku.

It embedded itself in the waist of the Zaku, killing the pilot instantly but not destroying the entire Zaku. It was then that Ikros got an idea and charged towards it. Trent destroyed two Ginns and then grabbed hold of another one by the head with his shield arm.

He cut off the arm holding the metallic blade and then sliced the Ginn in half. Trent's red eyes passed onto the metallic blade, and at that moment a red seed fell and exploded. His left arm grabbed the blade and then he flew straight toward the destiny, a beamsaber in his right arm and a metal sword in his left one. Ikros then headed straight for the Destiny and blue mobile suit as well with a beam cannon under each arm.

As a green seed fell behind his own eyes, he fired his two guns towards the Destiny. The Destiny flew off and ran into Trent's Murasame. With his metal sword he pushed away the Destiny's right arm and used his beam saber to cut through the left arm. Shinn lost his control over his Seed strength as he noticed his dilemma and tried to fight back. He pulled out his boomerang with his remaining arm and threw it. Trent brought both his blades in front of him and caught the boomerang, it continued to spin. Trent then hit it with his beam saber and sent it straight at the headless and armless Destiny.

It caught one of his legs, and as it returned it cut through his remaining arm. It was then that was suddenly hit and pushed back by Trent's next few attacks. The Impulse in sword form suddenly appeared and caught Shinn's mobile suit before flying off in retreat.

Ikros on the other hand, continued to fight against the blue mobile suit. Suri lost hope the minute she saw the two beamcannons. "How can he?" She yelled as two shots were fired in her direction and missed her barely. "How can he control such a large amount of power?" She fired her remaining gatling guns, straight at the Zaku's cockpit.

But Ikros then fired again, and turned the bullets into dust as well as the mobile suits head and the rest of the gatling guns. Weaponless and unable to fight back, Suri flew off trying to find a better way to handle things. "TJ! Fire the weapon now!"

TJ heard the order and aimed her double cannon, straight at the shuttle. The white mobile suit pulled the trigger, and an immensely large and yellow beam began to head straight for the shuttle. But TJ hadn't noticed that a black and red mobile suit had moved from its place of rest and was now protecting the shuttle.

The beam hit against Wes' shield and Wes then hit his thrusters to the max in order to try and push the beam from coming too close to the shuttle. As the beam lost power, Wes' shield exploded taking the left arm with it. What was left was a sorry sight for the Savior. It was armless and it had also lost one leg in the missile attack. It also had no head and one of its wings had been clipped badly.

It was then that the blue mobile suit fired her remaining missiles, but the Freedom decided to intervene. A brown seed appeared and exploded in front of his eyes, as he locked on to several missiles and opened fire. Each missile exploded just from being close to the contact of the beams, and Chris continued to fire his weapons.

TJ realized that there was only one shot left, and she decided to take it. She aimed her gun again, aiming straight at the shuttle and away from the half-dead looking Savior. She fired again just as she was attacked by a missile strike and a white Phantom Zaku. Yet the beam had already been fired.

Then another miracle happened, several golden funnels fired and connected with each others beams. The result being a large cube plasma shield protecting the shuttle. The beam dissipated against it harmlessly. The funnels then retracted and the golden armor of the Akatsuki was clearly seen in the black sky.

"Captain La Fllaga!" Trent yelled out as the Akatsuki suddenly took out its gun and fired behind, without looking at its target but destroying a purple and black Zaku easily. Another Phantom Zaku fired its beam gun at the golden mobile suit. The Akatsuki then took out a kodachi beamsaber (Smaller form of a beamsaber, or any sword for that matter) and spun it around, cutting through the blade. (If you haven't noticed yet, this form of the Akatsuki is more like the Hyaku-Shiki from Zeta Gundam…just thought it looked cooler)

During this time, the shuttle was finally going through the atmosphere and was out of the hands of the several Zala pilots fighting still. The retreat was sounded, their mission was a failure. Meanwhile, the rest of the pilots turned and headed into the atmosphere. Dearka came towards a slowly transforming Savior and pushed it towards the Earth.

They both entered the atmosphere, and Wes began to pray hard. His Savior, even in plane form, was in bad shape. He only hoped that it would be able to survive the re-entry process. His hopes were dashed as he noticed smoke begin to rise from his wings, and the members of the council inside of the shuttle noticed it as well. They also noticed explosions coming from the remaining engine on the leg of the Savior.

At that, the Savior began to spin through the atmosphere, and Wes began to feel queasy. When he saw blue skies again, and noticed that the temperature had dropped dramatically, another explosion rocked the Savior. He then tried to transform the ship, and it did so very slowly. "This is…Wes Baxter…requesting an emergency landing…I can't hold her!"

His breaths were shallow, and he felt pain coming from his ribs. He also felt the heat returning to his mobile suit, and realized that the MS was burning from the flames and the oil. 'Damn!' Was all he could think as he lead his mobile suit down and onto the runway several meters next to the runway the shuttle was using.

He then realized that he couldn't slow down, and as he was about to hit the road, another mobile suit flew up. The Infinity Justice caught the Savior and put it's thrusters up at max, including the engine atop its shoulders. It was enough to slow the Savior down, but the sudden stop made Wes hit his head hard against the controls.

As he blacked out, he remembered that the engines on the Savior's back exploded soon after stopping. And he also remembered the cries for medics and a pickup crew as he thought to himself, 'I made it…somehow…'

-----------------------------------------

My longest chapter yet. Sorry it took so long to finish, but I had a bit of writers block. I also wasn't able to put in all of the characters that I received from others yet, but they'll be up soon enough. Thank you by the way for all your characters, they really did help me out.

I really hope you liked this chapter, it was my hardest one yet!

Hawk Strife.


	9. Steady and Willing

I'M SO SORRY! Please don't kill me…no really please. Ack! Put that pitchfork down, back! Back I say! No really, I'm sorry I'm so late with this freaking update. I really don't have much of an excuse other than writer's block and the end of my highschool life.

Anyhow, I promise I'll try to do better in keeping my updates…up to date…

Scientist Hikari Takayama: She is known as Kari by her twin brother. She is 24 with black hair, dark blue eyes and a fair complexion. She and her brother once worked under Gilbert Dullandal, however they decided soon after the second war began to spy on him for the Clyne Faction. Hikari was caught but Gilbert was too busy dealing with the Archangel and crew, which allowed her and her brother to escape. She and her brother were well known because their family was one of the largest in the Plants, also that she and her brother were one of the rare births of twins. She is also known as a genius when it comes to Mobile Suits, however many agree that she needs to find something outside of work that interests her.

Mechanic Yoshiky Takayama: He is known as Yoshi by his sister. He also holds black hair, dark blue eyes and a fair complexion; yet he is the youngest of the two by 5 seconds. However, he also holds a mechanical right arm. He lost his real one fighting in Messiah, however he continued to help his sister and works on building machines. He worries over his sister and her constant workings with machines. He also states that she does this in order to forget that both their parents and their elder brother died because of someone whom they believed for some time was in the right.

Rachel Hayes: A 19 year old natural with red hair and blue eyes. She is Karus' personal mechanic, and is also considered an excellent mind at upgrading armors and suits. However, Karus has proven to her that there are some people who cannot be pleased. She constantly yells at Karus for his carelessness towards his own life and his own mobile suit. She is also known to have a temper and gives Karus a thrashing every time he acts indifferent towards her yells. Despite that, she tries her best to keep Karus' mobile suit ready to fight with; she is not interested in seeing him die.

Lieutenant Colonel Hakros Surren: The eldest member of the original surviving "Last Hope" squadron. A 40 year old man with blonde hair and green eyes, and small strands of grey hair. He is also the only one who is married. He was a good friend of Wes' father and all other people who knew him, even some coordinators. His wife lives in Houston Texas, and is well known to all people for being a great cook. Hakros takes care of all the pilots in "Last Hope" since he is of the highest rank, however he passed the title of captain of the squadron and gave it to Wes knowing that his father would have wanted it that way.

Sergeant Meryl Skye-The 20 year old girl from London England, along with her brother. Black haired with brown eyes, she is known as the defender of all "Last Hope." Her Windam is equipped with an enhanced shield on each arm. Thick, heavy and equipped with a light shielding device, she defends herself and all members of her squadron. She also has two spares on her back and uses special short beam daggers in order to cut down her enemies. Her personality is upbeat normally, but beats down her brother whenever she can.

Sergeant Vash Skye-Good friend to Wes Baxter yet blonde haired and green eyed unlike Meryl. Although they say they are siblings, they never act that way and the two don't try to stop the rumors that they are not siblings from appearing. His mobile suit is enhanced with high quality pistols and he uses them with great skill. His Windam is also only lightly shielded, so he depends greatly on Meryl's support in order to survive. He is considered a wimp by many for his weakness against pain and blood, and his normally not serious manner, however his skill as a gunman and in a mobile suit is never questioned.

Mechanic/Pilot Sergeant Kuzzy Buzzkirk: The newest pilot of the original "Last Hope." Kuzzy was once a part of the first Archangel team that flew from Heliopolis, down to Earth and across the pacific ocean twice. After leaving the Archangel, only days before the Jachin Due battle. This blue haired 21 year old lost contact with his close friends from the archangel and felt worthless until the beginning of the second war. He rejoined the Earth Forces, unaware of what sides his friends were fighting in. After witnessing the first real battle that the Freedom participated in during the second war, Kuzzy requested and was transferred to "Last Hope" where his position as sniper support for Jessica gives him a feeling of usefulness.

The crash landing of Wes Baxter at Onogoro had caused quite a stir. The black Savior was damaged and would need an immense number of replacement parts in order to ensure that it could fight again.

As for the rest of the mobile suits, only Tyler Jeris and a few other pilots of the Orb Squadron received heavy damages that would require either wiring or actual metallic replacement parts. Trent and Ikros had done well to survive the entire conflict with only burn marks or a lost shield, but their greatest achievement was to be able to go SEED.

They were under questioning by a few of the other SEED pilots that were known, mainly Kira and Athrun. "After Wes got shot, I suddenly blanked out a bit and found myself with two beam cannons. I think I fried my power-generator and refiner with that stunt but it turned out all right in the end."

True to his word, Ikros' Zaku type III was fried on the waist, where his power cells had exploded from excessive strain. Trent was the luckiest, "I only picked up an Emeras sword from a Ginn, it required no extra power whatsoever."

Other than the sudden advancement in weaponry, the two pilots also showed extreme changes in their movements during battle.

They were also able to make quick predictions and caught much of the more advanced enemies off-guard. After that part of the questioning, the rest of the debriefing was simple until Yzak and Dearka came up.

They'd all been speaking about the battle and understood that they had several powerful enemies. Especially, with the Destiny, and the two new mobile suits, unknown to the other people. Only Yzak and Dearka knew the whole story, "Those two mobile suits...the blue one and the white one..." Dearka started and paused, not knowing how to continue.

"Their part of a legend from much too long ago, we can't be sure. In fact, we don't know how long ago it was." Yzak continued, "There were five powerful mobile suits, known as Gundams, which changed the course of the war and saved the Earth. They were then supposedly self-destructed, and their blueprints lost forever..."

"But?" asked Kira with a curious look, to which Dearka answered, "I guess someone found some blueprints..."

Everyone sighed at Dearka's comment; it meant that there was completely no way of them knowing how or where the blueprints could have been found.

The meeting ended quickly, yet Dearka stayed behind to lead his parents to his ship, the Voltaire, where Miriallia was still in charge.

"Neire, what's the status of the de-briefing? They should be done by now." Miriallia asked while looking over several reports on the situation of the all mobile suits, before sighing in despair.

"They're on their way ma'am, close by..." "They?" Mir stood up and walked over to the camera that Neire was looking through, and there she saw three dark skinned, light haired people walking towards the Voltaire.

Miriallia immediately took in a sharp breath, "Are those...his parents?" Neire couldn't help but smile as she nodded in response.

Over at Dearka's spot, he continually thought about how he was going to introduce his parents to Miriallia. It would certainly be awkward, what was she to him anyhow? His girlfriend? His subordinate? Nothing actually sounded right at that moment...

"Dearka dear!" Dearka was brought out of his reverie by his mother, "I've heard that you actually requested that a natural be brought aboard your ship." 'Well at least I won't have to explain that to them...' "I remember that Yzak told us during our last call, he seemed happy about it."

'Yzak?' Dearka's minds eye showed him his white haired friend smirking in front of a vid-screen.

He grit his teeth at the thought and then waited for a smart response, yet there was none. He looked back to see that there was one person missing from his family, "Where is Tiana?"

Tad, Dearka's father, smiled before answering, "She's up in the plants, she didn't feel like coming down here." Dearka sighed, knowing that this was the reason most people were surprised that he had a younger sister.

"Dearka, you still haven't answered my question..." Dearka looked back at his mother before scratching the back of his head and nodding. His mother's face changed immediately to suspicious, "Now why would you do such a thing for a Natural?"

"Well, she's not just any natural-"

"She?"

'Damn!' Dearka thought to himself as they approached the Voltaire, thinking of a way to escape the coming conversation.

Over in the Onogoro hospital, Wes Baxter was recuperating steadily on a hospital bed. The white walls and the steady beeping of the machine next to his body being the brightest parts of that room. Everyone else was not in high spirits.

James Badguirel and the rest of "Last Hope" were waiting impatiently for Wes' awakening. Jessica was sleeping on James lap.

Hakros Surren was outside standing guard for the hospital room. The only man who was a bit more suspicious of other people than normal. The other two people in the room were Meryl and Vash Skye, the twin pilots of that squadron. Finally, Kuzzy looked out the window, taking in the old sights that he hadn't actually seen for some time.

Outside of the room, Hakros continued to stand guard as Athrun Zala paced oustide of the room where his wife had been taken into and had stayed during the entire battle.

Hakros looked over to that side from time to time but did his best to stay where he was, although he was reminded of an old friend.

_A man with black hair and pale skin, and still paling walked from one side of the room to another. The man wore a decorated Earth Forces uniform._

_"Would you calm down already? It's going to be fine." A younger and beardless Hakro said from his place in a chair. "To think, when you're in battle, your so calm, but you're going crazy over your first kid."_

_"Well how are you not?" The man finally said, stopping for only a few seconds before tapping his foot on the floor._

_It wasn't long after that that a black-haired young woman was pushed into the room carrying a crying bundle in her arms. "Hakro..." "I know Robert, I'll take care of him if anything happens..."_

_"Robert...what are you going to call him?" "Wes...Wes Baxter, leave the middle name blank for the name that he'll earn himself one day..."_

Robert was known as Robert "Flight" Baxter, and his wife was known as Hayane "Sakura" Yonshe. Hakros himself as known as Hakros "Big Brother" Surren.

It had been years since that day, and a simple look at a young man worrying over the same exact thing, replayed that memory in his mind. He took a quick look back at the room where Wes was still asleep, "I kept my promise Flight, you'd be proud of him..." He turned around and then resumed his guard.

--------

It was dark, Wes Baxter felt somewhat conscious as he looked through the darkness.

'_Where...'_ He thought as he looked around. Then He noticed a station, a space station far away.

There was battle, explosions all round the station. The station so close to the moon, Wes felt pure surprise.

A beam suddenly appeared and flew though a space station, completely destroying several at the same time.

'_The final days of Gil Dullandal...'_ The scene changed as he moved to a different area. Somewhere inside of a base, where now different explosions went on.

Windams flying against Windams. But there was no hesitation during the battle, none whatsoever.

Although he was not in a mobile suit, he could hear all the voices of the battle. Even one that he thought he would never hear ever again.

'_dad..._'

It wasn't long before two Windams finally came across each other. Two red beam sabers stayed on each other, and Wes heard their voices clearly.

"You betrayed us!"

"I will not be ruled over by a bunch of Coordinators!"

The two Windams pushed each other away with a strong kick. Before one shot the other while second blocked and charged again with its beam saber.

"Why? Why would you follow these teachings?"

"They are the way of the world!"

"You're wrong!"

The Windam suddenly charged again, its beam saber pointed straight ahead. The other Windam did likewise screaming out the name "WES!"

Wes' beamsaber was knocked away and Wes gasped as his enemy came towards him for a killing blow...

--------

Wes woke up suddenly from the shock of his dream.

He looked around with his eyes, seeing only the white walls that painted the room with some people sitting and also sleeping deeply.

He recognized them immediately as the rest of the "Last Hope" squadron. He didn't see Hakros, but he saw everyone else.

"So, you're awake finally?" He looked over to the voice who spoke. He saw that it was Kuzzy, looking away from the window with a smile.

"What are you still doing here?" Wes said with a smirk on his face, "Didn't you promise us that you'd go straight back to your friends when we got here?"

Kuzzy didn't answer, he only blushed in embarrassment. James however decided to speak again, "It's about time you woke up...all kinds of crazy stuff is happening here..."

James face seemed as if he was not having fun, and Wes could only wonder why this was happening. Before he could ask however, Kuzzy spoke, "Cagalli's still in the hospital room, and Athrun is outside waiting to know what's happening. Lacus and Kira are perparing the wedding. And I just heard that Miriallia has become a part of the Zaft military, a first mate..."

--------

"It's nice to meet you..." Dearka's mother, Rena, said as she greeted Miriallia. Tad did likewise as Miriallia saluted Dearka who answered likewise.

The four then moved to the bridge but Rena stopped and spoke, "I feel a bit tired Dearka...you and your father should go see the bridge, I'd very much like to speak with your second-in-command."

Dearka was about to speak against that idea, but Tad quickly grabbed his arm and took him to he elevator.

Dearka and Miriallia gave each other a look of desperate request for help, but it was cut when the elevator door closed.

Miriallia felt in danger, that feeling was stronger when Dearka's mother spoke again, "Shall we go?" Miriallia smiled in response before nodding and moving forward. She was wringing her hands the whole time.

--------

Back at the hospital, Athrun continued to pace outside of the room. After saving Wes' Savior he landed and ran straight back to the hospital.

He was told that by then there would be no problems and that the baby would be born. However he was still unable to get inside of the room to be able to see Cagalli.

"She probably did this to me...just to see me squirm..." Athrun stopped and thought about what he'd say, "Or maybe she wants to make sure that I don't name the kids..."

Athrun then shook his head, "That's crazy..." He then resumed his pacing and wondering about what had happened.

Then the door opened, and Athrun could hear Cagalli's voice, "I said don't let him in, I have to think of a name for her!"

Athrun's jaw fell, and the nurse that had opened the door looked surprise to see Athrun standing there. Athrun then shook his head and pushed his way inside.

"Cagalli! I swear..." His anger died down as he noticed the bundle in Cagalli's arm. It went even lower when he noticed two bundles.

"T-t-t-twins?" Athrun said in surprise to which Cagalli smiled and nodded. Athrun then remembered why he was there.

"You-" "I was going to name the girl because you didn't have a very good name anyhow..."

"But-"

"No buts, I'm still going to name her just like I named Ahmed...Now then what would be a good name?" She began to think deeply as she looked down on the bundle in her left arm.

"Leonore..." Athrun said, and Cagalli's face scrunched up, "What an awful name..."

"Too bad, put her name down as Leonore." Athrun left no room for discussion and Cagalli decided that it was better not saying anything.

"Leonore and Ahmed Zala Athna" The nurse said as she wrote down the names in a pad.

The discussion was over, and the names were decided on quickly. Athrun then sat down beside Cagalli and made no move to pick up the children.

Cagalli noticed the look on Athrun's face and spoke, "Your daughter's heavy..." Athrun looked surprised at Cagalli's comment.

"But she doesn't look-"

"Just pick her up." She was tired but Athrun knew that she could carry them both.

Athrun still decided to pick up his daughter while he could keep Cagalli in a good mood. He was still reluctant though.

The baby was in a deep sleep, her tiny hand grabbing onto the other. And her tiny lips smacking against each other as she slept.

Athrun could not help but smile at the small light blue-haired baby. Ahmed also had blue hair, but a darker shade.

Athrun looked ready to say something to Cagalli, stopping when he noticed her sleeping face. Her chest rose up and down slowly, as the baby stayed on her chest with the same peaceful expession.

"Twins..." He whispered to himself, "I should have known that would happen."

--------

Kira and Lacus were both elated to here that Athrun and Cagalli were now parents. Lacus teased Kira about the idea of him having a nephew and a niece.

"Unkle Kia, they'll call you!" Lacus said with a giggle. Kira sighed as he thought of some kind of comeback, but nothing came to mind.

It was then that the two came across the door to Wes Baxter's hospital room. Hakros was no longer on guard, so Kira decided to enter and pay a visit to the injured pilot.

"Kira?" He heard as he entered the room. He looked over to see an old friend in the same room, along with several other pilots and the injured pilot himself.

"Kuzzy?" Kira asked likewise, and Lacus then entered. All the pilots knew the two well and understood their importance. They were quick to salute, catching Kira by surprise, but Lacus saluted back quickly.

"So then, how are you feeling?" Kira then asked, looking over to Wes with a smile.

Wes smiled in return, "Oh you know, nothing better than coming back through the atmosphere with a damaged mobile suit..."

Kira laughed in response to the light joke. At this point, Meryl and Vash were waking up from their little nap. "Ah! Our fearless leader has returned to the land of the living!" Vash said loudly with a smile. It quickly turned into a frown when Meryl bashed him on the back of the head with her fist, "Don't be loud! He just woke up!"

Vash grimaced in pain as Meryl continued to beat him, Wes could only shake his head in silence.

It was then that one of the nurses entered and began to take Wes' temperature. The others could only look as Wes did his best to not blush at being treated like that in front of his subordinates.

--------

Elsewhere a similar beating was occurring inside one of the Orb pilot's hangars. Karus was under direct assault from his personal mechanic, Rachel Hayes.

"For God's sake! I already told you too many times that you can't keep doing this to your mobile suit!" Karus shook his head in response to Rachel's yelling.

He tried to walk away, but Rachel grabbed him by the back of his jumpsuit. "You're not going anywhere until I'm finished!" She yelled again.

The energetic and easily angered woman was not the best person to deal with. And Karus learned that no matter what he did, he would both lose and win in the end. He would have to agree to help out the repairing of the mobile suit while he would still do the same thing every time he went out because he brought back more people.

Karus sighed as Rachel continued to berate him for the stupid decisions he has taken in the name of allowing others to survive. Karus did nothing to fight it, and simply began to tune out everything she said. 'It's the same thing she says all the time anyhow…' He thought to himself.

Rachel finally ceased and noticed that Karus had missed most of what she had said to him. With a fake smile she picked up a wrench that was lying on the ground and came closer to Karus.

After noticing a glint from the light reflecting off of the wrench, Karus woke up and noticed her menacing glare. Karus groaned as he backed away slowly, "I'm warning you Karus…" Rachel said suddenly as she got closer and closer.

"Do this again and I'll do much worse than what I'm about to do…" Rachel said once more as she came closer again. Even though Karus was moving away, her presence was getting closer to him by the second. 'Maybe I went too far with the last few stunts…' He said to himself as he turned and decided to make a run for it.

He didn't get very far before feeling some pain from the back of his head and blacking out completely. The last thing he heard was an evil laugh and the clatter of a wrench on the hard cold steel floor.

-------

"So have you met any new pilots from the other side?" Tad asked when they arrived to the bridge of the Voltaire. Dearka nodded slightly with a nervous grin as he answered, "I've met two; a coordinator from Orb and a pilot from the Earth Forces."

"Natural?"

"Yes, but he's quite the pilot and quite the looker." Dearka answered with a laugh, to which Tad looked at him strangely. Dearka then continued, oblivious to the queer comment he'd just made, "His name is Wes Baxter-"

"Baxter?"

Dearka looked over to his father, seeing the surprised look on his face. "Are you alright dad? Do you know him?" Dearka quickly rushed to his father's side, wondering if something was the matter. Tad pushed him away with a smile, "I don't know…Wes…but I did know his father…Robert…it would certainly be interesting to meet him if I had the chance."

"I can arrange that," Dearka said smiling, "We're getting along pretty well, people say we look almost like brothers, maybe even twins!"

Tad smiled and laughed nervously, "Brothers huh?..." He was fairly silent after that but said very little about the matter.

"Anyhow, he's a fairly interesting person. He was also piloting the Savior during the battle beside your ship." Dearka stated while he remembered the recent battle. His father too was remembering the battle, and he recalled the image of the black and red mobile suit that was severely damaged in the battle.

"Is he all right?" Tad asked his son, to which Dearka answered, "I heard he just woke up, and that he'll be walking in a day or two."

"I see, the wedding is tomorrow isn't it?" Dearka nodded at his father's question. It was surprising but the couple to be married thought it would be best to get married sooner than later once they reached Orb.

It seemed sudden, but no one went against the decision. It was understood, that the times were becoming more and more desperate; there was very little time for happy moments between all the leaders of any nation.

At the same time, this discussion had reached the conversation going on between Miriallia and Rena. The two had begun with the normal tour of the entire ship.

Lacus and Kira were well known to both people, Rena was speaking of the experience she went through when she met Kira. "It was interesting to say the least…"

Rena continued as Miriallia imagined what Kira must have gone through, "Kira needed to be suited up in some form of uniform since he was next to Lacus Clyne who had just become the leading Chairman. Yet it only served to confuse people more, since they didn't really know who exactly Kira Yamato was."

Miriallia giggled at what she thought would happen next. "So there goes my husband up to poor Kira, and gives him a salute. And there Kira was looking around him, wondering who he was saluting to!" Rena continued smiling the whole time. "It was at that point that he finally saluted, a bit sloppily, and Dearka came to start a conversation with him."

"Tad was already a bit confused when it came to Kira Yamato, and finally asked Dearka who he was. When he answered that Kira was the pilot from the Archangel, Tad nearly had a heart attack right then and there, and even Dearka thought he was having a real heart attack!" Miriallia laughed louder after that, along with Rena.

After the two finally calmed down from their laughing, Rena then spoke, "Speaking of Dearka, how do you two know each other?" Miriallia froze at the question. It was quite a meeting, and one that would most likely bring a shock from Dearka's own mother.

Miriallia was very hesitant to speak of the event, and scratched the back of her head with a nervous smile on her face. "Oh come now, it couldn't have been that bad!" Rena said in response to Miriallia's reaction. Miriallia could only choke as she began the story.

-------

"It's been a long time hasn't it Trent?" Chris said as he and his old friend sat by each other at the base's cafeteria. Trent smiled at his friends question before nodding. "Too long, I haven't heard from you since the Clyne faction decided to disband their major groups."

"Yeah well, not everyone could disband, I've been working on the important stuff…haven't had time to talk to anyone Earth-side you know?"

Trent chuckled before nodding, and then Chris continued, "It sure is nice to be back though…I've missed this place…"

Trent smiled again, "You should have come back sooner then…" "I couldn't bear it…too many lost friends…"

Trent knew the burden that Chris had put on his shoulders. And it was one that he put on by himself, even though others tried to help him with it. "You really should let it go, there was nothing you could have done…"

"I've heard that before," Chris said as he drank from his cup. Trent shook his head in despair, he too was friends with the test pilots for the Astray's and he was also distraught when he was informed of their deaths.

"Don't worry about me though…I've come back now, I decided it's time to let it all go…" Chris said, trying to cheer Trent back up.

"Trent, after the wedding, what are you going to do?" Chris said suddenly, surprising Trent. "Where will you go? What mission will you be given?" Trent could not answer very quickly.

"I'm not too sure…we'll probably get back to looking for those mobile suits that attacked Carpenteria Base in the Atlantic." Trent said waving his hand in front of his face, and Chris smirked in response.

Their conversation was interrupted as another voice spoke out, "You boys would cause too much trouble if we just let you back out onto the field!"

"Captain La Fllaga!" Trent half-yelled as he stood up and saluted. Once he was finished, the blonde haired hero pushed Trent back down onto his seat. "We're off duty for god's sake…let's just take a break…"

"After the rescue you pulled back up in space, you came back sooner than I imagined." Chris said as the captain sat down. "After the shuttle went through the atmosphere, the group of Mobile Suit stated themselves finally before turning away and flying off."

Mwu placed his hand on his forehead as he sighed, "It was as most of us believed…they called themselves the Zala Foundation." Chris sighed at the information, but Trent had a look of confusion on his face. "I've never heard of the Zala Foundation…" Trent said, and Mwu nodded before speaking. "It's a fairly new and quiet group…it runs and is rumored to be the followers of all of Patrick Zala's policies and beliefs. Basically, they want to wipe out Naturals from the face of the Earth and consider coordinators to be the next stage in mankind's evolution."

"The same policies that brought the war between Zaft and the Earth Federation…" Chris said, giving Trent a different thought, "It's like an answer to the Natural's Blue Cosmos group!"

"Very true; it brings back bad memories from both wars…" La Fllaga stated, to which Chris answered, "The second war…" His face lit up with realization, "Wait did the fall of the Junius Seven!...Did they cause that?" Mwu looked over to Chris with a stern look, before nodding slowly.

"That disaster……caused by a bunch of-" Trent couldn't finish his own words. His teeth were clearly gritted together and his eyes contained a fire fueled by rage. A rage that no one had ever seen come from the normally calm and peaceful young man.

"Trent?" Mwu asked suddenly, noticing the sudden change in his former subordinates demeanor. Chris however, quickly realized that Trent was remembering a horrible incident. One caused by the fall of the space station. One that affected him terribly and caused him to decide to join the Orb forces, against the will and advisement of all of his friends.

--------

Once again, I am very sorry. In truth, I still have some writers block, so I don't like how this chapter turned out really. However, there isn't much to do about that. I haven't done one on paper in a long time, however the next chapter will be the awaited wedding of Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne. See you then!

Hawk Strife


	10. Loving and Spying

College has started, but that's hardly an excuse. Well it isn't one for me. I'm just going through a bit of a phase here, sorry again. It seems like writers block is a lot stronger than I thought. But I'll do my best to get over the hurdle

"Kari…Hey, Kari!" A worker shouted from the top of the Saviour undergoing major repairs. From the ground floor, a woman wearing a white scientist gown looked up at him and yelled. "What is it Yoshi?"

"What the hell are you using the booster for?" Yoshiky Takamaya said as he pointed over to a rather large booster that was being moved over to the back of the Saviour. "That wasn't part of the original specs!" He finished as he leaned against the half-burnt head of the Saviour.

"I know!" Hikari replied with a tone of glee in her voice, making Yoshi groan as he realized what she was doing "It'll be better than ever before! Faster! Stronger! I'll make sure that this pilot has nothing to worry about!"

"Oh yeah?…well who's the pilot?" Yoshi said, knowing that it was up to the pilot whether or not his machine was updated. "Aw, who cares? I don't need his permission, he's probably still in the hospital bed, crying his eyes-"

"Oh really?"

A voice said behind Hikari who froze and turned to see the pilot in question, Wes Baxter, fully healed and ready for action. She froze once more and blushed at the sight of his face. "Um…" She mumbled slightly as she blushed a bit more as Wes shook his head. He then walked over to his Saviour and looked up at Yoshi, "Well Yoshiky? How's it look?"

"Awful! You burnt out the engine, you lost all the weapons, you lost some of the limbs, you're lucky that all the parts we needed are even on Orb!" Yoshi said as he counted off the numerous problems on his fingers.

Wes smiled and nodded, "I know, I got lucky on that mission…anyhow, how long will it take?" Yoshiky shook his head. "If Miss Lala-land can get back to work, we should be done in two days. Even with the 'Improvements' that she's making."

Wes nodded and moved back to Hikari as she looked down over her work, hiding her face. "So, these improvements?" Wes stated quietly as he reached her table. Kari looked up and nervously smiled as she pointed down to her schematics. On it was what looked like the Saviour but with two obvious differences, the wingspan was larger, and there were two double beam cannons on each shoulder.

Wes looked down at the beefed up Saviour and wondered if he could even move with the extra weight. "Um!" Hikari said suddenly, catching Wes' attention "I've added a…a um…"

She blushed more as she noticed his attention on him and began to fidget, then finished half-shouting, "A new joint schematic designed by me!" Wes took his finger out of his ear as he shook his head lightly. "Joint schematic…so it should be able to move better?" "And it can take on more weight."

Wes nodded in understanding and smiled, before bending over the schematics and signing his name over the line beside the words 'Pilot Signature.' Wes then gave a light salute before leaving the hangar.

Hikari sighed lightly as she looked on and grinned as she immediately got back to work on her schematics.

When she was occupied with that Yoshiky grinned and moved behind the head of the Saviour before whispering through the com-link on his metallic arm. "Hey, Wes old buddy? Worked like a charm eh?"

Seconds later Wes' own voice came through the com-link. "Are you sure I should have done that? I mean I do have a girlfriend, what if I hurt her?"

"Aw don't be such a pansy, she'll come back up faster than you'd think, at least now she's got a reason to finish and will be done by the end of the wedding." Yoshiky said as he looked back over the head and went back to his arm. "Well I'm signing off, see you again old friend."

-------------

The country of Orb was moving with the celebration of the upcoming wedding between Lacus and Kira. The wedding would occur tomorrow in the afternoon. And the two would be wedded in the same temple-like landmark that Cagalli and Athrun were married.

The site was being looked over and secured by the coordinator security force, led by Chris Price.

Mobile Suits, soldiers and lines of communication were being set up and secured in preparation for the big day. The security was being done, mainly for Lacus' sake, but there would be several important figures at this wedding.

Ikros and Trent stood on a mountain ridge, looking over the organizing group on the ground. The two were asked, along with Wes and Peter, to come to the wedding and be part of the personal reception.

They all accepted happily and were also told that they would be given lines in order to be able to communicate with the security and help in case anything dangerous were to happen.

"Looks like their setting up some defensive mobile suits for the entrance way." Ikros said as he looked through the binoculars. Trent nodded in understanding, "Good way to stall for time, but what about from the mountain itself?"

Ikros moved his sights over to the mountain range and looked around. "It looks clear of anything, but my best guess is that they'll be using air patrols to cover most of those heights."

"All right…and the radar station can pick just about anything now. It doesn't matter who they are now, or what they're using." Trent said in response as he looked in the other direction seeing the airbase set up their Murasames for takeoff.

"Who do you think would attack?" Ikros asked, finally taking off his binoculars. Trent looked over to him and thought it over, "The two extremists have a bone to pick with Kira and Lacus, so it's possible that the two would look for some kind of opening to attack through."

Ikros looked over to Trent and grimaced, "Doesn't sound like they'd pass up a chance like that." He soon noticed that Trent was trying to stifle a laugh.

Ikros sighed as he moved his fingers over to the insides of the binoculars and pulled it out, noticing the black ink that was on the tip. His eyes, covered in round black circles, looked over to the now laughing Trent. His face showing he wasn't amused.

"You know…I get the feeling that Wes' near death experience is going to make the next few missions less peaceful…"

----------

After the meeting of Dearka's parents with Miriallia. The two pairs separated and that was when Miriallia spoke of another meeting that probably would have to happen.

Dearka looked pale at the thought and hoped that she wasn't serious. However, the first meeting had occurred the day before, and now they were moving on to Miriallia's house.

Dearka's parents took a liking to Miriallia immediately, not caring that she was a natural.

After Miriallia had explained how she and Dearka had met, Rena had told her that it was actually a very romantic story. Miriallia laughed at that, and smiled feeling at ease.

Dearka and Tad had also gone through that conversation, and Dearka's father could do little more than laugh hard. It had been years before, and they understood that what had happened had occurred years ago, and at that moment there were no hard feelings whatsoever.

Yet Tad and Rena Elsman were possibly completely different people than Miriallia's parents. Dearka then popped another question, just before they reached her house.

"Miriallia…what exactly are we right now?" Mir looked back at him with a confused look and Dearka rephrased the question. "Mir, are we…you know, together or…"

He wasn't sure if Miriallia had understood his question, but when she smiled he waited for an answer.

"…I couldn't say…" He heard Miriallia whisper to him, "I just wonder if it's even possible…" Dearka looked over at her with a look of confusion.

"What do you mean? If this is about me being a coordinator and you being a natural then--"

"No! It has nothing to do with that…that doesn't matter to me…" Miriallia stated, and then looked away from him for a moment before taking a deep breath. They had just reached the house, and Miriallia was about to press the doorbell when Dearka asked one more question.

"Do you want to be with me?" Miriallia froze at the question, her finger an inch away from the doorbell. She looked over at him, a wanting look on her face before she smiled and pressed the doorbell. Dearka grinned, feeling his question slightly answered as he waited for her parents to answer the doorbell.

---------

Peter and Cassidy had used their time away from the battlefield to try and relax. Knowing that once the wedding was over, they would be sent back out onto the battlefield.

Peter also knew that after such a tiring battle, the only one who was up and ready to fight at full strength was him in his Gouf.

"Cassidy…" Peter whispered lightly, slowly gaining her attention. "I…Am I right…in being afraid?..."

Peter's question caught Cassidy off guard, and her face slowly turned into a frown. "Why…are you…?"

Peter raised his hand and then spoke again, "It's nothing…just me being a bit paranoid." Cassidy looked over at Peter and smiled, she took her drink and ran her finger over the rim of the cup.

"You know Pete…the others…Wes, Trent and Ikros were sorry that you weren't able to go with them…" Cassidy started, gaining Peters complete attention. "They just didn't think that they were at their best without you."

Peter scoffed with a light smile on his face, and Cassidy playfully slapped him on his arm. "Take me seriously, that's what they told me…and…they also said…that when they fly out next…they want you to use your new Gouf to the fullest"

Peter nodded and looked away…but then turned back with squinted eyes. "What?" He said while Cassidy gave a light smirk as she took her tray back. Peter shook his head before he stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.

He briskly walked back to the hangar, running every now and then but mainly walking. Until finally, he reached the hangar with his mobile suit.

He stood, just outside the hangar, looking in. His jaw wide open. He felt it pushed shut and turned to see Cassidy smiling at him, a hand under his jaw.

---------

"Mr. Elsman, my name is Wes Baxter"

He held out his hand, and Tad could only look at him with a smile on his face as he grabbed Wes' hand and shook in return. "It's nice to meet you Wes, it truly is…"

Wes smiled in return and sat down in the restaurant that he and Tad had decided to meet in. "Haha…you look so much like your mother…" Tad said as he sat down and Wes smiled as he sat across from him.

"So you knew my parents Mr. Elsman?" Wes asked curiously.

Tad laughed heartily as he answered, "Robert was one of the best friends I grew up with, and your mother, the "Sakura" that the military knows, was a force to be reckoned with when we both met her."

Wes laughed, noting that she probably hadn't changed much since that time, although she'd finally retired when his father died. "She was also quite a force to be reckoned with when the Zaft forces attacked Earth."

Wes nodded, remembering the scores of battles that her mother had taken a part in. She had quite a battle record for a woman pilot in the Earth Forces.

"Seeing you…reminds me of both of them…especially Rob…" Tad said with a sad tone in his voice that Wes could relate to. The death of Rober Baxter had come as a shock, even to those who had been fighting beside him at the time of his death.

Wes shook his head at the memory and looked down at his drink.

Tad was now staring at the face of the man; he really did look like Dearka. He said nothing, but his heart wanted to be set free of what he could not say at that moment.

Wes finally looked up with a sad smile on his face, as he took a sip of his drink. "So then, how long is the council supposed to be staying here?"

"As long as the wedding takes…after that, we should be returning. Well most of us will, Kira will be staying to take part in the battles to come."

"Really? Then we'll have the best of the best backing us up!" Wes said with enthusiasm and Tad smiled before speaking, "Don't sell yourself short. Even Kira will need the help of skilled pilots just like you."

Wes laughed nervously and scratched his cheek, "Well I don't think I'm that good, haha!"

The two continued speaking with each other. Reliving memories of the man who died an early death, Robert Baxter. Both spoke with a smile on their face and a sad tone in their voice.

They conversed until it was beginning to get late, and the two said their goodbyes. The wedding was in the morning and both knew that they would not wish to miss it.

------

The day of the wedding was filled with hustle from all parts of the friends and family.

Kira and Athrun standing next to each other. Athrun was doing his best to keep Kira from balking and running away from the event.

Wes, Ikros and Trent were all in charge of preparing the security before they themselves went and took part of the celebration. They would need to look over the ceremony from ceremonial mobile suits.

Wes looked out into the crowds as they grew larger and larger with more people wanting to see the wedding between the princess and the hero. It was like a wedding from a fairytale.

It was funny just how much that made sense to most of the people watching the ceremony. Kira stood close to the altar, with Cagalli sitting in a chair up front, carrying her two children. Yzak and Dearka were seated next to their parents.

The sun shined down on the thin see-through tarp that acted as a makeshift roof for those standing and sitting in the seats. There was a high tension, even in the mobile suits, as they waited for the bride to come and be walked down the aisle.

Wes smiled as he finally noticed a white limo come closer to the location of the wedding. It was then that he had realized that there was no one to walk Lacus down the aisle. Her father had died during the first war, and so he wondered who would give her away to Kira.

"Maybe she'll walk down by herself?..." He whispered to himself, as the limo pulled up and the crowd cheered. Wes smiled and looked on, his camera zooming in on the limo as it opened. And out came Athrun Zala, who pulled out Lacus by the hand and began to walk her down the aisle.

"Of course," Wes heard over the radio, "Who better to walk her down and give her away, than her former fiancé." Wes nodded his head, not able to disagree with that knowledge, guessing that it was Trent who had spoken as he paid more attention to the wedding.

Athrun had already given Lacus away to Kira and sat next to Cagalli, picking up his daughter and moving her to sleep. Kira smiled as he held Lacus' hand and stood beside her as the priest began.

The ceremony started peacefully, with the priests voice spoken through the megaphones, heard by all. "For all who see and stand before us. Today we will witness the blessed union of one, Lacus Clyne, and one Kira Yamato!" The voice started and boomed through the crowd, creating a silence throughout all of them.

The ceremony continued, with every word heard and held onto as if it would slip away. And then came the final moments. The moment that everyone had been waiting for. It hadn't been a long ceremony, but still, everyone felt that it had been far too long before the couple had decided that it was time to get married.

Cagalli secretly whispered that it wouldn't take them as long to decide to have kids. "Kira Yamato, do you swear to be her lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health until death do you part?"

"I do!" Kira said a little too strongly, and blushed as he heard the crowd chuckle a bit. He sheepishly grinned and blushed at Lacus, who grinned in return through the veil. "And do you, Lacus Clyne, take Kira Yamato to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health…until death do you part?"

The reality of that possibility hit on Wes and he realized that she'd probably felt the same way. She was afraid of losing him, but when she spoke he felt a determination. "I do…so much beyond that…"

The wedding was finally about to end. Wes saw several things during that time. He saw Kira's mother and father, with sniffling slightly, and noticed that even Ezalia Jule was using a hankerchief.

Cagalli had wanted to keep a straight face but she could not, even with her son in her arms. And Athrun…well, Athrun merely looked proud at the man he'd been calling brother for the past few years.

Wes then noticed Shiho looked across towards Yzak. "Well…that's interesting…" Wes said to himself as Lacus and Kira experienced their first kiss as husband and wife. "And the crowd goes wild…" He whispered with a light smile on his face.

---------

With the ceremony finished, all that was left was the final party. There was champagne, smiles and noise everywhere. Wes walked around with an earpiece, listening to transmissions between security but enjoying himself while he still could.

Cagalli had been hugging Lacus for the past few minutes, and Lacus had been helping Cagalli with taking care of her children. "You'll need the experience one day," Cagalli said, much to the embarrassment of Lacus.

Still the two were smiling as they took care of the kids. Kira was standing with Dearka and Athrun. All three of them having a good time.

And elsewhere in the party, another meeting was occurring.

"Shiho!"

The young military woman, who'd been called, looked around until her eyes stopped on Yzak's figure. He seemed to be nervous about something, this wasn't the man known for his ruthlessness in war.

"Yes commander…?" Shiho responded unenthusiastically.

"I'm sorry…very sorry…" Yzak said as he bowed before his subordinate. Shiho couldn't help but look on in complete and utter surprise.

"Co-Commander?" Shiho said a little loudly with a blush appearing on her face. "What could you be sorry about?"

Yzak shook his head, "I know…I know that sending you away and taking in Prine as my bodyguard angered you…I didn't know that you would be so affected…I meant no harm!"

"Yzak…this isn't like you at all!" Shiho said and ran over to him, making him stand up. "It's not that important, you don't have to just throw away your pride for me!"

"But I do!" Yzak half-shouted, catching Shiho even more off guard as she looked into his eyes. "There are only three people in this world…who I truly care what they think of me…and am happy to even be acquainted with….are my mother…Dearka…and you, Shiho…"

"…But…then why did you do it?" Shiho said still feeling a bit shocked, wondering if anyone was listening to them.

"…because…I thought that you…" Yzak began and then steeled himself as he looked up at her eyes, "I thought that you were tired of just being my bodyguard, of just being a soldier under my command…I wanted to give you the chance to become a soldier that you'd be proud to be…"

Once again, there was a long uncomfortable silence between the two. And then, the corners of Shiho's lips rose to create a stunning smile that left Yzak blushing.

"Commander…but…you should know…I've always been happiest fighting under you…" Shiho said with tears in her eyes. Admittedly, they were the first tears that Yzak had ever seen come from her eyes.

Yzak then finally reacted to what she said, looking surprised. "Well…then…um…would you like to…return?" Shiho did not speak, she only nodded slowly before wiping her tears and saluting with the same stoic expression that belonged to a soldier, with a light smile barely seeable on her lips.

------

Wes walked around, enjoying himself and holding a small glass of champagne. He was sincerely wishing that Nina was here, then he would have someone to dance with.

He noticed the newly weds dancing together on the floor, as well as Dearka and Miriallia. He smiled, seeing his look-alike and easily imagine himself in that place with Nina dancing in front of him.

He imagined the scene until a girl passed in front of him. He looked at her, admiring her beauty and walked over to her. The girl had blonde hair and fair skin. She had a light amount of make-up and was walking around, looking towards the dance floor.

Wes was aware of what she wanted to do, so he walked over to her, "Ma'am, may I have this dance?" The lady looked over at him in surprise but smiled as she nodded and was led to the dance floor.

The music was moving at a slow pace, and the two were dancing with a smile on their face. "I don't know you…are you a friend of the Yamatos?" The girl asked, to which Wes answered with a serious look. "I could ask you the same thing…"

Wes was no longer smiling, and neither was the girl. "You're face isn't on the invite list, so I bet you're name isn't on it either…who are you?" Wes asked as he tightened his hold on her, discretely not allowing her to escape.

The woman looked up at Wes with fierce eyes but sighed as she gave in. "My name is Tira…I'm with the Zaft reconnaissance-"

"Don't lie to me…you've been looking over at the Yamato's for a while now…" Wes said with a smile on his face.

Tira then looked over at them herself, seeing the happy couple blushing under the attention but with shining smiles on their faces. And also, she could tell that they had been holding hands ever since they'd left the church.

"You're probably with the Zala Foundation aren't you?" Tira could only look back at the smiling face of the one who found her out and nodded.

Wes sighed and looked around before he grabbed her by the arm and walked away from the dance floor. Tira sighed again, knowing that she was being taken to the guards and expecting a full interrogation and possibly torture.

She closed her eyes as they passed through a set of doors and opened them in surprise as she felt a cool air breeze.

Tira looked over at Wes in confusion. He simply looked over at her and grinned, "If your going to get captured by the enemy or lose in this war…you should lose in a mobile suit, not with a piece of crap like this." He finished with a pistol in his hands.

Tira looked surprised and felt for her holster beneath her dress. Feeling it empty she looked up at him shrewdly, "You must be some kind of pervert…" Wes smiled and shook his head. "Nope…I'm Wes, pilot of the Earth Forces…"

Tira again looked at the man in front of him and shook her head. "Fine then…I'll see you on the battlefield then…" She said as she walked away from him. She looked back to see him give a small wave before entering once again.

She sighed when she was far enough away and spoke into her earring. "Suri…the mission was a complete failure."

Her earpiece crackled slightly, "What? But if you weren't able to get close to killing them, you were supposed to recon."

"I was found out by someone there….probably one of the pilots we fought…" Tira said with dismay as he moved over to a small ship and used the motor to go out to sea.

"Well…was he cute?" Suri said with a laugh as she started up her mobile suit and listened.

"He was Earth Forces…maybe he was cute but he's definitely more your type…" Tira said with a grin and heard as her friend cleared her throat.

"Doubtful, I'm taken remember."

"That guys going to cheat on you one day…that's the kind of person he is…" Tira said sighing once more.

"Well if that ever happens, I'll be sure to look up the enemy and see if I ever find this guy, ok?" Suri said and laughed once more before moving to pick up her friend and letting her into the cockpit, before taking off into the night.

---------

It was morning once more, and the time for a Fleet of a truly united World was about to move out.

Kira and Lacus were hugging each other before they left. "Don't…don't leave me alone…please…." Lacus said as she hid her face at the same time. To which Kira nodded and smiled lightly. "I promise you…I'm coming back from this…"

With that, he brought her face up and gave her a kiss to leave her with as he moved away and over to Athrun's Orb ship. Lacus smiles and nodded before moving away as well, returning to her duties as chairwoman of the council. She had orders to give even while she was on Orb. She also had to start taking care of her nephew and niece with Cagalli.

Zaft, Orb and Earth Forces ships were ready to go with mobile suits in each ship.

At the moment, Trent was standing in an Orb ship hangar, speaking to his friend Chris. "You're coming with us?" He said in surprise and Chris simply nodded with a smile.

"It seems that the princess would rather I come to protect her new husband than her…" Chris smirked as he said this and looked up to his Freedom Gundam. "No worries though, I'm sure she'll be fine under Orb's supervision, she'll just have to stay awhile longer, waiting for more reinforcements."

Trent nodded and smiled, patting his friend on the back. "I'm happy to see you with us then; we could use the help I think."

On a Zaft ship stood Ikros with his sister, Menla, as her ship moved out through the sea.

"I don't want to see you disappear this time…understand Ikros?" Menla said softly as she sat down in her seat and looked up at him. Ikros nodded and smiled at her. "Don't worry, there's no way we'll lose if we're all together like this."

That assurance was what was needed in the entire fleet. There was still a bit of tension with different countries working with each other. But it was hoped that this would promote peace and a common goal for the world.

Then came the Earth Forces. Wes stood among the many pilots along with his "Last Hope" Squadron.

This group was the most unsure of all, of whether they should trust the others or not. But Wes was doing his best to get the pilots and crewmembers excited about a chance at everlasting peace without a major war to do so.

"We want to be able to give our families complete peace and the ability to trust our neighbors. If we do so, then it'll be enough for the need for soldiers to end." Those words made several smiles appear on everyone's faces.

"We won't need to die in order to protect our country if we are able to reach this goal of peace. So let's work hard to do so…well?" A cheer resounded in the belly of one of the EF navy ships.

Elsewhere, another group of ships were preparing in secret, to move out. They wouldn't go soon, as they were perfectly safe in secret. But there was one place that knew about them, and that was the destination of the New United Fleet…

-------------------

Finally! I'm sorry again, I'll be sure to make sure I'm working on the next chapter at least today. I'll make sure it's ready by next weekend, even if I have to give myself a shot of adrenaline to keep it moving. It's my responsibility, and I should start taking it more seriously from now on. To those reading, thank you for continuing to read this even with my procrastination and lateness in everything I've done so far. Thank you once more.

Bows

Hawk Strife


	11. The Desert Princess

Gulnahan: An ocean city found and surrounded by mountains and a desert terrain. Once under control of the Earth Forces, the town was unable to live a good life with their already low supply of food and water. They looked to Zaft in order to save themselves and followed Dullandal's order, until his true ambitions were shown to the world. Ever since, they have been working to become completely independent from either Zaft or Earth Forces. Secretly, they also hold a spy and information network that is known only to Athrun and Cagalli.

Coniel Almeta: At 14 years of age, Coniel was the representative of the resistance when Gulnahan was under control of the Earth Forces. Coniel drove in and gave the information necessary for the liberation to be a success. She met Shinn Asuka and Athrun Zala, and was commended for her heroics. She was also the one who fought to decide for complete independence from all groups. Now at 19 years of age, she is still working with the resistance.

Captain Jack Porter: A 30 year old war veteran of the Space and Earth Navy. He has been an Orb soldier for a good while, and has been known to be a kind hearted soul, yet fierce when it comes to battle. He nearly lost both his wife and daughter due to the second attack on Orb from Zaft. His resolve to protect his country never was stronger ever since that time.

"Commander Athrun, we're receiving a hail from an unknown source!"

This was what Athrun had been waiting for ever since they entered the waters of Gulnahan.

Since they'd left their home country, the crew members were getting a bit snappish at not having found anyone after all that time. They were wondering if they would ever find the source of the evil, or even a small part of it.

Not to say that they did not want peace, but they had been in a normal state of alertness ever since they'd left Orb. After being alert for so long and not having found anything, they were feeling a bit worn out.

Athrun was happy to finally be able to look forward to a trustworthy source of evidence in their search. "Put it on screen!" The crew member nodded and immediately typed the necessary buttons.

Then, the face of a young girl with brown hair and light brown skin stood looking into the ship. She smiled at the sight of Athrun, whom smiled in return. "Miss Coniel, it is very nice to see you again," the girl on the other side of the conversation nodded in response.

"I heard you're looking for something?" Coniel said with a smirk on her face, holding a data disk in her hand that the crew could clearly see.

Athrun nodded, hoping that this would be a simple transaction.

Money for information.

"So what's your price?" Athrun stated, preparing himself for her outrageous prices, although he really couldn't blame her in the end.

"Freedom" Coniel said simply to which Athrun could only sigh in dismay before nodding. "Fine…shall we send someone over to pick you up?"

Coniel nodded over the Com-channel, "Please send a mobile suit to these coordinates, your fastest pilot and mobile suit will be best."

Athrun nodded and ordered the disconnection of the channel.

"Commander? What are we going to do?" Athrun looked over at his subordinate, and sighed once more. "We'll just have to leave part of our forces to take care of this situation, while the rest of us head over to the real enemy…as long as Coniel is willing to agree to that kind of deal."

Athrun could only sigh once more, feeling a bit of stress coming along from the future negotiation. He wasn't made for this, Cagalli was.

---------

"Captain Baxter, you're Savior MKII is prepped and ready for launch!" Wes heard over the radio before nodding.

He tested a few of the controls before the launch, but still he hadn't been able to test it to its fullest in a combat situation, or even a test flight.

Wes was feeling a bit anxious as he saw the doors in front of him spread and open the way for the launch tunnel runway. "Wes Baxter, Savior II, Launch!"

The clamps hit the ground as the Savior readied itself for the jump as it was pushed to towards the opening of the runway at a rapid speed.

As it jumped into the air, Wes felt the new thrusters charge up, and cringed wondering if the thrusters were a bit stronger than what he'd expect. He got his answer as the thrusters burst the Savior forward, throwing Wes straight into the back of his pilot's-seat.

"Captain Baxter? Are you ok?" Wes sighed and growled through the com-link, "Send a message to Orb…don't let Kari upgrade anymore of the mobile suits…"

-------

Miles away, inside of an Orb hangar, a cute scientist immediately sneezed.

"Are you ok Kari?" Yoshi said, and Kari nodded before sneezing again.

------

The desert passed by quickly below him as Wes piloted his Savior just above the ground, doing his best to avoid detection as he neared the pickup point of…well he wasn't sure who he was picking up.

All he knew was that it was an important person, someone who would be able to tell them the location of the enemy base.

The Savior finally flew out from behind a desert mountain, and from a small plateau looks a girl towards the approaching mobile suit.

Wearing a long tan colored trench coat, and goggles over her forehead, she stood beside a covered go-kart.

Her brown hair fluttered wildly in the wind as the Savior approached more and more. It soon floated down to the ground in front of the plateau, with the cockpit a few feet away from Coniel's location.

She looked over as the cockpit opened, expecting to find a familiar Zaft suit. Her eyes widened when the Earth Force colors of blue and white entered her sight instead. "Wait a minute…" She whispered to herself as she readied herself for an attack.

Wes didn't notice anything as he stepped out from the cockpit and looked down at the girl strangely. "What is this? She's just a little girl?" He said as he was let down by the rope hanging from the top of the cockpit. Sadly for him, he'd forgotten that his mike was one, so she'd heard him over the radio.

She growled as she picked up her mike and screamed into it, "What?" Wes cringed and threw off his helmet, holding his ears in pain. "Ow! The hell was that for?"

Coniel didn't answer as she put away her radio and walked over to him and looked him over. "You're supposed to be picking me up?" Wes could only nod as he stuck a pink in his ears trying to get rid of the ringing. "Yeah…Commander Wes Baxter, at your service…"

Coniel looked over the mobile suit in front of her. The phase shift armor was turned down and it showed the gray coloring, but she noticed how familiar it looked. "What are you doing with the Savior?" She asked suddenly to Wes' surprise.

"It's my mobile suit…Earth forces gave it to me…" She raised an eyebrow at his reply, "This is a Zaft mobile suit, piloted by Athrun Zala last I checked."

Wes shrugged with a smile, "You've done your homework then, but that was then, this mobile suit is piloted by me now." Wes then picked up his helmet and secured it, "Now come on, SC Zala is looking to talk with you right now"

Coniel groaned as she walked over to Wes and hung on to the rope as it pulled them both up. "What's your name by the way?" Wes asked as soon as they'd reached the cockpit and entered.

Coniel looked at Wes with untrusting eyes before stating simply, "Coniel…" Wes looked at her in return but shook his head as he started up his mobile suit.

With a small roar, the Savior pulled out and headed back towards the ocean where a part of the fleet waited.

--------

After the return of the Savior, Wes and Coniel headed straight for the war room where the Captains of several ships stood, along with the faces of many more that were still in their ships but watching from the view screen.

Wes and Coniel both entered, at first surprised to see that there were so many. Athrun saw them and immediately greeted them. "Thanks for taking care of her Wes," to which Wes shrugged and made to leave before he was called back.

"Oh wait, you'd better listen to the mission before you leave…" Athrun said quietly as most of the Captains moved to their seats and Wes stood at attention in the corner. Coniel took a look around and quickly whispered to Athrun "Where is Shinn?"

Athrun's smile was gone and he sighed, "He's been missing for a long time…and we don't know what side he's on right now…" Athrun then left the confused girl as he walked to the screen in the room, preparing to speak to all of the Captains.

"Captains of Orb, Earth Forces and Zaft…we have ourselves two very important missions before us." At that moment, the screen behind him turned on, showing the small shores of Gulnahan.

On it was a small town and surrounding it were several mobile suits which held the Blue Cosmos emblem on their shoulders. "I don't think I need to tell you who these guys are…we need to take them out in return for the plans and location of the Blue Cosmos base."

Coniel nodded and held the data disk in her hands, not wanting to reveal it until her town was freed. Athrun, however, couldn't wait that long. "I'm well aware of the fact that Miss Coniel would rather wait until we have finished off the enemy, but we need to move on the base at once while we still can."

Coniel looked up in surprise, as Athrun walked over to her and held out his hand. "On my word, I promise that your town will be freed, but we've got to take out the base at the same time or else something like this might happen again…"

The girl looked small and frail at that moment and could do little more than nod and hope for the best as she placed the data disk into the palm of his hand. Wes looked over at her strangely, feeling that something was not quite right.

He faltered slightly when he noticed an evil grin on her face, just when Athrun entered the data disk into the computer. Wes looked up to see a general mapping of Panama.

Wes was beginning to think that he was wrong, but then noticed that this was as far as it got. "Now then, you can get the other half of the disk when the mission is done, understand?" Wes looked back as Coniel said this, seeing a happy smile on her face.

He sighed in return and whispered to himself, "This girl…is really something else…"

"Commander Baxter!" Wes stood at attention at the call, "Sir!"

"You are to take your personal Earth Forces squadron and join up with the Zaft Battleships Saunders and Hiro as well as the Orb Carrier ship Stratis. You're mission will be to liberate the town and then make sure that the rest of the information is sent to use before catching up to us as we take part in the battle."

Wes understood and nodded quickly, before he was dismissed and quickly walked out, taking Coniel with him as he passed by her. The two were outside of the room and walked on to the hangar.

"Well, I'll take you back to the pick up point and leave you there, before I prep my team for the fight."

Wes said as he let go of her arm and allowed her to walk beside her as they neared the hangar. Coniel, however, shook her head. "Someone's got to make sure that you do your job right and without hurting any of my people."

Wes sighed in response, he could tell that he wasn't going to be able to get rid of this chick very easily. Besides that, she was also a pretty big handful. He didn't know if he could deal with her and fight at the same time, but he shook his head and nodded.

"This is just gonna be one of those days…"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

--------

They were ready.

Wes had debriefed and chosen his squad members easily.

'Last Hope' along with Trent and Ikros were ready to be launched into battle along with several other mobile suits from both the Zaft and Orb Forces ships.

"Wes…you ready?"

"Anytime Trent…"

"This is Captain Jack Porter of the Orb Carrier Stratis. You boys in the United Team, get ready to launch. And remember your mission! Take out any and all anti-ship and anti-mobile suit cannons! Once their clear, we'll immediately send the rest of the force to force the enemy to retreat."

Wes, Ikros and Trent nodded in return and prepared themselves for the launch.

"Ikros, Zaku III, Launching!"

"Trent, Murasame, Movin out!"

"Wes, Savior, Let's go!"

"Baka! Aaaaaaah!"

"Don't go yelling about how you want to keep an eye on us next time!"

Wes yelled as the Savior launched, and Coniel was sent back into him by the force.

The three mobile suits were finally out once more, back in action and ready for their first sortie since their launch into space.

---------

Cliffie? Or maybe just to get you a bit more interested? Don't know, but I ended it seemingly early…oh well, it was a good time to end this chapter. Shrugs Can't go making 10 page chapters all the time, they get my blood boiling but it's hard to do it all the time.

If I disappointed you…well…not much I can say, hahaha!

There'll be action next time, and hopefully I'll let it out sooner than this time.


	12. The First Step in Battle

Down at the city in Gulnahan, the growing city-town was seen with few people walking around, mainly uniformed people.

Blue Cosmos was written on their shoulders, and it could be seen that they were unofficially siding and fighting for them. Still, they held blue and white Windams surrounding the town.

There were also some Mobile Suits hiding in the abandoned base hidden in the mountains.

It was a weak set up but to them that didn't matter, simply because they did not believe that anyone would go after that small town. Of course, they'd been wrong before and they would be wrong once more.

Stratis, Hiro and Saunders were preparing their launch pads with all of their mobile suits. Captain Holsen of the Stratis Battleship had ordered that the United Team would set out before them.

"All ships, we will begin to move forward now. Be on the lookout for anti-ship cannons and the possibility of a Lohengrin." Holsen said as he felt the ship sluggishly crawl forward.

Wes, Coniel, Trent, and Ikros were all on their way down the mountainous ravene, heading along the coastline.

The Savior and the Murasame were both in Fighter mode, speeding between the higher planes, and skimming the surface. While the Zaku III followed with long bursting jumps, keeping up with the two and saving a great deal of fuel.

"First action in a long time…anybody nervous?" Trent asked with a shaky voice, to which Coniel scoffed at and spoke through the com-link. "You're supposed to be a pilot for Orb? What a wimp!"

"Hey that's coming from someone taking a ride with the Captain!" Ikros shouted in defense of his friend.

"Well I'm not trained to fly a mobile suit!" Coniel shouted in return and Wes sighed in sadness.

"That's enough…we've got targets coming up!" Wes said as he looked over his radar, spotting spots right at the edge.

"The signal's pretty weak isn't it?" Ikros stated as he looked over his own radar and took another jump with his Zaku.

Wes nodded and called in. "Trent, what do you make of it?"

"Stealth units?" Trent responded unsure, and Coniel replied. "I don't remember seeing any of those in action"

"Maybe their not mobile suits, but weapons being hidden by Myoski (Sp?) particles." Wes said as he turned his Savior towards the target.

"Anti-ship?" Trent asked as he followed and looked behind to see Ikros doing the same. "It would be the best defense, and it's along the coastline. Let's hit it hard and fast, we need to clear the way as fast as possible."

"Roger that Wes" Trent responded as he followed closely, just below his Captain. Ikros also responded and followed the two as best he could.

"Targets coming up!" Wes said, seeing his view screen magnify on the target automatically.

"Can you see it?" Trent said suddenly as he looked at his own magnification.

"No joy…but the radars says it's there…" Ikros said, when a beam fired towards him.

"What the?" "No questions, just fire! Fire!"

Wes commanded as he opened fire on the target with his four beam cannons, creating an explosion and a recoil that weren't expected.

"Whoa!" Wes shouted and looked over at Coniel to make sure she was fine before regaining his heading and passing over the destroyed target.

"How's it look Wes?" Trent asked as he followed, his plane wavering slightly.

"Weapon all right, but I'm not sure of what kind…"

"Let me take a look…" Ikros called as he stopped his Zaku in front of the charred weapon. "You guys keep going, I can catch up later."

"Roger, don't take too long!" Wes said as he and Trent continued on their way.

Ikros looked over the weapon, pieces of it scattered on the desert sand. There weren't any bodies, but Ikros noticed bits and pieces of uniform scattered everywhere. The gun-barrel had been melted by the beams, but it was definitely the right size to create a good hole in a battleship.

"Computer, give me a spec search for a Manned Anti-ship Beam gun…four cylinder coolant, and spherical movement. Search." Ikros' computer beeped in reply and began a search, coming up with several matches. Most of them were Orb and Zaft, but there was one Earth Force spec.

Choosing that one, he was given a map of the guns specs. He nodded, deciding it was the right kind of gun and looked over the summary of the gun.

"…weapon designed for mass destruction of a large scale over a long distance. First weapon capable of beam curvature, although completely new and unperfected form of firing…"

Ikros shook his head and sighed before he continued to read and widened his eyes at one sentence.

"…specs insist that the gun be covered by a special Minovsky particle covering, and that more than one be installed in a specific spot…"

Ikros moved out of the way as another beam fired. "Shit!"

He threw his axe in the direction of the beam, the explosion showed him that he'd done his job correctly. Ikros then groaned in realization that his Axe was now gone.

Another shot was soon fired, and the Zaku ducked before firing his beam gun straight at the gun, creating another explosion.

"This won't end very well…better get up high!" Ikros launched into the air, hoping for a better view of the surroundings, he ducked just in time as another few beams headed in his direction.

"Damnit!"

---------

"Trent, we're coming up on the town. Make sure you're ready to send the all clear once we engage"

"Copy that Captain, let's do this!" Trent shouted.

Coniel rolled her eyes and spoke, "Oh now you act all brave…you'd better keep an eye on him!"

She looked straight at Wes, who looked back and stated, "He's a pilot, he can make his own decisions and he's fighting for your town…I don't want to hear another word out of you!"

"Well you can't just-"

"Please…" Trent said softly through the com, quieting Coniel down slightly as he continued. "Let me show you…just how good I can be!"

Trent charged forward, and Wes followed, allowing him to take the offensive as they came right on the Blue Cosmos mobile suits.

"Let's take'em down Trent!" Wes said as his Savior curved in the air over the town and transformed. "Don't hit the reactors, let's make silent kills while we can understood?"

"Roger! Let's clear the way!" Trent pulled out his beam saver and ran through the cockpit of a Strike Dagger, watching as it fell to the ground with a clatter but not explosion.

"1 down, 7 targets left!" Wes yelled as he transformed and pulled out his own beam sabers, stabbing through two other Windams.

Trent looked around as he was fired upon by two beam weapons. He raised his shield in time to block the attack before charging once more. Using his shield, he pushed one of the enemies weapon into the air before running through the cockpit. And then turned as he used his shield to crush the other cockpit.

"3 left…they're running!" Trent shouted as he saw them take off into the air and towards the mountain.

"Trent call for reinforcements, I've got these…" He pulled out his four beam cannons and clamed the Saviors feet to the ground as he fired.

Red and blue beams sliced through the air and curved slightly in the desert sun. They were powerful enough to melt through the armor and destroyed the mobile suits mid-air. The beams finally stopping as it hit the mountain side, miles away from the town.

"That should wake them up, get ready to defend!" Wes said as he kept two of his beam cannons ready to fire, and his two beam sabers ready to fight.

"This is where we need Ikros…" Trent said as he looked around for any other enemies.

Wes nodded as he kept his cameras open for any enemies. "Coniel, I think you should probably seek some shelter and tell your people to do the same…does that work for you?"

Coniel nodded as the cockpit opened, "Don't leave without me, I've still gotta talk to Athrun after this."

Wes nodded and Coniel was taken down as Wes continued to watch for any other enemies. "Trent, keep an eye on her. If she needs help, you'll be the one taking care of her."

"What!? Why?"

"Cause she might like you."

"What!? Wes what are you talking about? Wes?"

Wes didn't answer as Trent began to babble slightly and blush profusely. Wes grinned as he closed the cockpit and looked as Coniel entered a house.

Then a transmission came through, "Wes! This is Ikros! I just took out a good deal of guns. This is not any unofficial Blue Cosmos group. They actually have curvature beam weapons! Be ready for that! I'm on my way right now!"

Wes growled as he called over to Trent, "Call Stratis, I need Last Hope launched now!"

"Roger that Wes!" Trent yelled as he quickly began to call through his com-link as Wes took off and headed outside of the small town.

The Savior landed and bent its knees as its feet clamped down and its four beam cannons were ready to fire.

"All right, let's see what you've got BC…" Wes whispered as he waited for the enemy.

Trent finished his message, receiving the ok from the Captain of the Stratis. He sighed in relief as he moved his Murasame and prepared to launch. He was stopped when a small stone hit his camera.

He looked down to see Coniel standing with an expression of anger and her hands right on her hips. Trent sighed as he opened the cockpit and lowered the rope.

"Wes…I'm going to kill you…" He whispered as he noticed the rope become tight and begin to rise with Coniel at the end of it.

As Coniel entered, the cockpit closed and Trent prepared to move his mobile suit closer to the Savior.

"Great…I can't believe I have to go with you…" Coniel whispered, making Trent look up at her and grit his teeth in anger.

"You could have just stayed in the town."

"No way! I have to make sure that you guys don't make any mistakes," She stopped and poked her finger into his cheek, "Especially you wimpy boy."

Trent growled as he landed his Murasame into the ground rather roughly. He smiled inwardly as Coniel fell over in the cockpit screaming.

Wes listened in on what was occurring inside of the cockpit. Trent hadn't turned off the mike, but Wes was interested in what was going on.

"Huh!? Wait, what are you doing!?" Wes heard Trent yell out suddenly and then Trent groaned suddenly.

"That wasn't funny!" Coniel shrieked through the com-link, and then Trent responded, "Well you didn't have to punch me!"

Wes sighed as he turned off the radio, he didn't want to hear anymore. It would be an interesting relationship if it worked out for the two of them, but he wouldn't interfere.

He'd only watch.

He looked back up at the mountains, seeing no change or additional mobile suit units appear. He was beginning to wonder what Blue Cosmos was planning when his com started up again, "Captain! Please get here, I can't fight like this!" Trent yelled out, rather pathetically.

Wes smirked but didn't laugh as he answered, "A good soldier should be able to fight in any situation. She's staying in your cockpit until the battles over."

"…I am gonna die…"

"Don't say that while I'm in here!" Coniel shouted at Trent's thoughtless statement.

Wes laughed finally, beginning to relax in the tense atmosphere. "And here I was beginning to think he'd never loosen up!" He heard through the com-link suddenly.

"Ikros, you're pretty late…"

"Sorry Cap, just bumped into the "Last Hope" and led them over this way."

"Captain, this is Jessica. We're late because Kuzzy had to go to the bathroom after we took off!"

"I did not!"

Wes laughed once more before stating, "Well enough pleasantries. Ikros take position next to Trent. You don't have a high-beam cannon today, so you'll just have to deal with a normal rifle and back-up duty."

Wes looked around, not seeing any more enemies for some reason. "I want 'Last Hope' to set up a perimeter around the town as we wait for reinforcements. They'll be here soon, but not sooner than the enemy."

"Heads up!" Trent yelled suddenly as he looked up at the mountains, noticing two squadrons of Strike Daggers.

"Fast little chumps…Fire!" Wes yelled as he fired his four beam cannons towards the squadrons.

--------

"Captain, we're nearing Panama!" Dearka heard from Miriallia as he placed it on screen. The view was that of mainly the ocean and a green and brown piece of land.

"Any enemies?" Dearka asked as he looked and Miriallia didn't answer as the screen focused on several mobile suits standing on guard and flying around.

"What the!?" Yzak yelled as he noticed how many were armed and prepared for battle. Shino and Prine looked at their Captain in surprise at the look on his face. Yzak growled as he picked up his radio, "Athrun, what the hell is this?"

"They knew we were coming…" Athrun said in reply quite simply. "I told you to be prepared for just about anything…we were bound to have a spy somewhere working for Blue Cosmos."

Yzak growled in response as he ordered the preparation of all the mobile suits to launch from his ship. "Get my Gouf ready as well!"

"No, Yzak! The plan is still in effect!" He heard Athrun yell from his Captain's seat. "Take command of your fleet from your seat, and send your second in command in your stead. Understand?"

Yzak growled in reply once more, and Dearka listened scratching his head at the same time. He wasn't able to cope with the same plan, his second in command was able to do battle in a mobile suit.

"Dearka?" Dearka heard from beside him, he looked to see Miriallia looking at him with concern. He smiled in return before he stretched his arms and then stood up.

"Mir, you're in charge now. Get my mobile suit ready and launch all other suits!" Dearka said as he walked away, leaving Mir to sigh sadly before sitting down on his chair. She took a deep breath, happy to smell the scent of Dearka lingering from the chair before she took a serious face.

"All crewmembers, assume your battlestations!"

Similar orders flew around in different ships. Yzak sat by as he ordered Shino and Prine to take charge of the four squadrons of mobile suits sitting inside of his ship. They took their orders and walked away with a simple nod.

"Athrun…don't let this go too far…" He whispered as he looked at their ships preparing for the firefight that would begin soon enough.

"Captain?" Yzak heard someone speak and he replied simply, "We don't know where the base is…we need to draw them out not go charging in blindly. That's the plan quite simply, we go in at a later time…"

Athrun sighed as he looked over at Chris and Kira. "Chris, you're to take lead in Kira's place. For now, you need to make them think that we aren't willing to hold back anything, try to draw them out. That means, that there are to be no complete kills until Kira takes off."

Chris nodded before he ran off to his Freedom.

"Jaken…be careful…" Menla said simply as she saw his blue Gouf launch into the air and land on top of the ship.

"All right men! This ones for Captain Menla, let's make her proud!" Jaken shouted as he lifted his Gouf's sword into the air, eliciting a war cry from the rest of the pilots.

"They're all in high spirits" Cassidy said as she felt a small picture of peter that was sown onto the inside of her collar. He'd been assigned as the reinforcement squadron for Wes and his men. He would soon take part in the battle near Gulnahan, and at the same time he too was feeling a small picture of his beloved which was placed inside of his cockpit.

The sky was filled with mobile suits, but there was a deadly silence between the two major armies. What would happen next was a bloodshed between mobile suits that would be remembered for all time.

And so it began, when Chris aimed his beam cannons and fired them all at the heads and arms of several enemy mobile suits.

This was war…

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How am I doing so far? Seriously, I've been cutting it short a few times, but I feel I can't make them any longer for some reason. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel that I should just end chapters when it feels right, even when not much has happened. And I'm pretty sure that right now, not much has happened.

Anyhow, next chapter will be a major battle, hopefully I'll do it right. 

Until then however, please review and tell me how it's going.

Hawk Strife

PS. Two new characters that I thought I'd put in today will have to wait until next chapter. There just wasn't a very good situation to put them in at the moment.

Sorry to the reviewer who gave them to me, I'll be sure to put them on soon!


	13. The Second Step in Battle

Hello sorry this is late, but I've been working hard. By the by, as of today I will no longer be accepting extra characters, I'm very happy with the many characters that were sent to me, and shall do my best to use them to the fullest. They will of course continue to fight, grow, and become quick friends with each other, and I will not forget the characters at all, promise.

Anyhow, the last two extra characters that were made by reviewers are right here, although they don't get much of a debut today. They will in the next chapter…I hope?

Anyhow, hope this is a good chapter.

Ensign Riley Rafordy: A 19 year old war orphan of the Orb military forces. She is a considered a rookie pilot but an expert hacker. Because of this, when a Special Forces mission occurs, she is immediately taken out of a mobile suit and into a Special Forces unit. Sarcastic and dry whenever she has something to say, her personality clashes with her pretty looks. Dark ebony hair with red tips and silver eyes, although you can only see one with her bangs covering her left side. Whenever she is given the chance the pilot, she always decides to take out the old type M1-Astray, taking infiltration positions.

Tristan O'Brian: A 20 year old pilot and special forces commander. He's a flirtatious guy who learned early on that being a hard-ass was no way to live a life. He grew up with his mother relatively peacefully. He lost his father who fought as a pilot during the first invasion of the Kingdom of Orb. He coped with the loss by learning how to draw, and because of that he has become an amazing artist who brings his sketchbook along almost everywhere. It is common to see him sitting on a cargo box, while drawing in his sketchbook. Being the commander of Special Forces teams, he had several chances to meet and work with Riley. He has taken his chance to get to know her in the war, and might be considered her only friend. His skill with a katana aided him in allowing the use of a special Astray, known as the Gundam Astray Red Mk II, the younger brother to the Gundam Astray Red that was taken by Lowe Guele and used during the first war.

"We're going out very soon Ensign…" Tristan said silently as he sat down in the pilot seat of the Red Astray Mk II. "Are you ready?"

"We'll be going to Gulnahan. Our mission is to defeat the Blue Cosmos troops stationed there, which is basically an unknown number. This is a dangerous mission." A calm voice coming from a dark haired girl with silver eyes said with little emotion.

"Are you scared? I'll make sure that nothing happens to you!" Tristan replied to Riley with too much enthusiasm. He blushed at doing so, and received a quick response. "I can fight just fine. I'm a good shot, I'll be the one protecting you…"

Tristan felt himself lose his hope for a chance at proving himself slip away and then punch him in the face. He grimaced as he heard the call that they would launch very soon.

The Orb carrier ship, Stratis, was equipped with several different squadrons of Murasames and other mobile suits.

Tristan and Riley were special forces officers. They didn't have much say in a mission, but they were a guarantee for several missions when they took part.

Captain Porter stared ahead as the sight of the small town of Gulnahan came into view. They were approaching from the side of the mountains, getting closer to the small opening that was the beachhead that would allow for entry and attack.

"I hope everyone's ready, because we've lost contact thanks to Minovsky particles in the area. We don't know what's going on now, so keep your heads up and your eyes open! Now launch!"

--------

"Here they come boys!" Wes yelled as he continued to fire his beam cannons, watching as several of the armor melted several of the Windams before they finally exploded.

The Zaku III threw a flash grenade up to a Strike-dagger, blinding the pilot as Ikros used the axe to cut down the enemy.

His shoulder shield saved him from a sudden attack as bullets flew down from above.

"Ikros!" Yelled Trent as he flew up and slashd the mobile suit in two with his beam saber, landing and not moving until the mobile suit exploded.

"Whew, good move Trent!" Ikros yelled before he fired his beam weapon up towards the enemy.

"Where the hell are they coming from!?" A female voice yelled.

Wes looked back to see that it was Reallia yelling as she fired her sniper beam weapon on the closest mobile suits.

Another few mobile suits landed before two of them suddenly fell to the ground with holes all over them. And the rest fell to sudden attacks on their knee joints and hands.

"Vash, keep doing that and they'll be sure to come back you know..."

"Kuzzy...you know full well..." He started with a strong voice before saying pathetically, "I don't like blood!"

Still, Vash looked up and fired his Windams pistols on the hands and heads of the many mobile suits that were coming down.

"We need those reinforcements!" was finally yelled by James himelf, as he slashed through the closest Strike-dagger, an then firing at the others.

Trent gritted his teeth as he continued to fire on the enemy, forgetting that he was also protecting someone else inside of his own cockpit.

He was reminded when a sudden calm came, and Trent was able to hear soft sobbing noises.

Trent looked back to see Coniel trying to hide in the corner of his cockpit. He quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

She screamed suddenly and fought hard against him, but Trent pulled hard and she fell against him.

Gravity pushed her down on top of him as he fell against the pilots seat.

He pulled off his helmet and hugged her suddenly, making her stop in her resistance. "T...There's nothing for you to fear!..." Trent yelled, knowing why she was afraid.

"I will protect you...with my life..." Coniel had calmed down but then began to cry once more.

Trent stuttered, wondering if he'd said the wrong thing. He didn't have much time to ask when the Murasame shook from an explosion that hit its side.

Both inside the cockpit shouted in surprise as the Murasame hit the ground loudly.

Coniel felt herself shook around, before falling straight on the console.

She opened her eyes slowly, still hearing the shouts and gunfire over the radio. She gasped before looking behind her to see Trent knocked out and bleeding slightly from his forehead.

"No!" She shouted as she got to his forhead and found the cut, before ripping her sleeve and wrapping it around Trent's head.

"I know...that you will protect me..." She whispered, wondering if he could listen or not, "but I don't want someone to have died doing such a thing."

"I don't know you, Trent...but still, we could become friends...as long as we both survive..." She said quietly, cringing when she heard an explosion rock the earth just outside of the head of the mobile suit.

"I'm...not ready to die yet either..."

Coniel gasped as she heard Trent speak and forced his Murasame to stand up. The Windam that had been coming steadily closer and firing shots was not looking surprised, before zeroing in on the cockpit with its weapon.

It didn't get the chance to fire though, because its pilot was quickly burnt to ashes from Wes' beam saber.

The Windam fell to the ground silently while the Savior launched and cut through several other Blue Cosmos fighters.

Trent sighed in relief as he got ready to take off, "Don't over do it..." He heard Coniel say silently.

He looked over at her, but only saw her looking away with and angry look on her face.

"I already had to rip my favorite shirt just to save you; I don't want to have to do that again!" She continued, and Trent nodded before launching into the air.

"Hey!" Reallia shouted suddenly over the radio, "That's a Lohengrin!"

Over by one of the mountains, a door had opened and from it had appeared the large beam weapon.

"Reinforcements coming in!" Ikros then shouted, seeing the ships and several mobile suits floating around them appeared through the opening in the valley, right next to the actual town.

"Damnit! Take out that gun!" Wes shouted and Reallia nodded as she took aim. Her scope locked onto the gun as it locked on, and her Windam pulled the trigger.

The long red beam of the sniper rifle cut through the air in a straight line and stopped, meters away from the Lohengrin.

"That's a shield!" Reallia shouted too late, the Lohengrin had been fired.

-------------

Panama's sky was filled with explosion, and the sea was filled with ships.

There was no peace, only destruction and mayhem.

Chris, in his Freedom, fired all his weapons, cutting though several mobile suits.

"Chris! There is no way that this is the main HQ!" Tyler yelled as he fired on two Windams that got to close to him. Keeping his shield up at the same time as it blocked many beams heading in his direction.

Chris said nothing in return as he slashed through a Windam and used his shield to crush the cockpit of another.

"Chris!" Tyler yelled out once more but Chris shook his head, "It was obvious since I got into this battle…I'm not as good as Kira, I can't take down so many mobile suits without killing pilots."

"So they know?" Tyler asked as he moved his Murasame behind Chris' Freedom, "Yeah…they know…it's only a matter of time before they decide to stop holding back…"

"Well I wish they'd hold back a bit more!" Shouted Nara's voice over the radio. "We've been fighting for a while and we haven't been able to take any territory on the ground!"

"This isn't good…at this rate, we might not be able to weaken the enemy enough to actually infiltrate their base when we receive the location of it…" Karus whispered and continued to assess their situation, "If they were to stop holding back, I don't think we'd be able to keep a good position before the Captains took off..."

"Guess we're not as good as the Original Gundam pilots after all..." Peter whispered as he fired his left hand gun from the top of the Voltaire. "Peter! Focus!" Peter looked up and brought up his shield just in time to block the attack from a Strike Dagger, before he pushed away and fired on it with his shield arm.

Peter growled and grabbed the whip from his new Gouf and shot it straight at another mobile suit, wrapping it around the waist of it before electrically charging it, resulting in the explosion of the mobile suit.

He sighed as he shook his head of his depressing thoughts, before charging back into battle.

"Captain Joule! How much longer!?" Shiho yelled as she fired her bazooka straight at another mobile suit, watching it explode on impact.

The lack of response forced her to call again, "Captain!"

"I'm working on it! Don't rush me!" Yzak yelled in response before rubbing his forehead and then ordering through the com to all mobile suits, "Listen up! We have a mission and we won't get any reinforcements unless we finally touch down and take over the coastline!"

"What!?" Prine shouted as she heard this and shouted, "Is he crazy? There's too much fire in the air, we can't take that coastline."

"No choice…" Someone said suddenly, forcing Prine to look up and noticed that Dearka was flying over them, "My men and I will charge forward and open the way for you and your group...if we don't take that coastline, they won't send out their best…"

"Dearka…" Shiho said beside Prine and sighed, "Dearka, make sure you don't make any mistakes on this…"

"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" Dearka said with a grin as he charged in his Gun-Zaku, with several mobile suits following.

"Arrowhead formation! Shoot anything coming towards us, and clear the way, once we take the coast, then we can worry about surviving!"

--------

"Battleship Saunders is hit! It's going down!" Wes heard over the radio and cursed as he looked over to see the Zaft battleship smoking with a gaping hole just below the bridge.

"What happened to the Captain!?" An officer shouted from over the radio, but there was no response.

Wes turned and used his Savior to fire once more on the Lohengrin. The beam shield appeared once more to stop it from getting too close.

"Damn it! We need to shut that gun down!" Wes shouted as he launched his Savior into the air and straight towards the weapon.

Trent and Ikros followed shortly with a few other mobile suit fighters behind them for support.

Meanwhile, back on the Saunders, there were flames everywhere on the ship. It was too late to save it, and so they had decided to abandon the ship.

But the Captain, and most of the bridge crew members were unaccounted for.

Jack Porter was still trying to find out about the situation when a call came through.

"This is an announcement to all soldiers..." He started and then coughed, "Our ship, the Saunders is sinking, all hands abandon ship..."

"The crew of the bridge...is all gone...as will I leave soon...Captain Porter...command is yours..."

The announcement ended and another explosion erupted from within the Saunders.

"Captain!" A crew member called, brining Jack out of his thoughts as he considered his options.

"Keep our anti-beam weaponry ready for that Lohengrin! Launch all mobile suits and have them assault that shield, send the special unit to finish that gun off for good!"

"Ensign Rafordy, Lieutenant O'Brian. You're mission is simple so make it quick, launch!"

The battle continued in Gulnahan, as Wes led several mobile suit fighters up a mountain, climbing slowly and using the rocks as cover.

"Don't back down!" Wes shouted as his Savior fired from behind a rock. There was little that he could see, as the random fire had created a dust cloud from the sand and rock.

"Damn..." Trent said as he continued to stand beside another large stone, with Coniel beside him.

"What now?" She asked, wondering what it was that she was even doing to try and help.

"Don't know, but I'm sure we'll make it." Trent said as he noticed the dust cloud dispersing.

Trent's eyes widened as he saw what waited behind the cloud. "Is that...?"

"That's a Mobile Weapon!" Ikros shouted as he fired on the looming shadow that neared.

It was a large green spider like creature with claws and a Gundam head. It's claws were capabal of smashing through any armor, and it was capable of creating a beam shield where no beam weapon could go through.

With the beam shield up, the beams hit the shield with sparks, doing no damage whatsoever.

Wes cursed as he saw a mobile suit suddenly get crushed and explode from the claws of the beast.

"Captain Baxter!" He heard and looked up, seeing Vash and Meryl land in front of him.

"We've got a heads up! Special forces fighters and reinforcements are on their way to destroy this gun. But we've also got three high speed fighters flying right towards us."

An explosion sounded quickly in front of the two, and Vash fired in return towards the Mobile weapon. "I can take care of this and open the way for the Special Forces, you just deal with those other fighters!"

Vash rolled his Windam through the sand and fired his twin hand guns, made of metal bullets surrounded by a beam. The bullet went straight through the shield, or at least began to give it more and more cracks.

"This won't take long, make sure you keep me covered Meryl!"

"Just don't get cocky!" Meryl yelled in return as she brought up her shields to block off a sudden attack.

Meanwhile, Wes growled as he looked up towards the sky, "damn it...I knew we'd see them again..."

"Heads up!" Ikros yelled as he fired his beam into the sky before bursting into the air and onto the blue Strike.

"You again, did you miss me?" Ikros said as he pulled out his axe and slammed it against the beam saber.

Rena gritted her teeth, before she finally smiled as she used her wings to boost forward, pushing Ikros away from her. "I haven't had much fun recently...come on then!"

She kicked Ikros to the ground and then chased after him, ready to slice through the cockpit when he reached him.

Wes transformed and crashed into the black Gouf as it appeared from the light of the sun. The two fell as Wes transformed and pulled out his beam saber and attacked once more.

Seeing the other two Extended fighting, Trent sighed as he whispered, "Oh no..."

"Hey there cutie! Beka's here!" The red haired girl shouted as she opened the comlink to his mobile suit.

Her smiling face appeared on his visor, but it turned to a frown when she noticed Coniel standing beside Trent with an incredulous look on her face.

"Who's she?" Beka asked quickly, and Trent found himself unable to say anything. He stuttered as he tried to find an excuse.

Beka didn't give him much time as she suddenly kicked his mobile suit a bit.

"L-look, it's not like we're together or anything!"

"You'd better not be! She's the enemy!" Coniel yelled.

"That's not what I mean!" Trent shouted before he felt another sudden attack on his mobile suit, sending it to the ground.

The cockpit became gravity less for a few moments before the final crash into the ground.

Trent shut his eyes and kept them shut as it crashed. He only opened his eyes when he felt something crash into him and something over his lips.

His eyes revealed another pair of surprised and widened eyes, a soft lips pushed against his own. Coniel and Trent did not move until a sound entered the cockpit.

"YAAAARGH!!!"

The two separated at once and looked to see an angry Beka staring at them in fury. "You…you!...Bastard!"

The red Windam suddenly charged forward and pulled up the downed Murasame and then threw it to the ground once more.

"This isn't fair!" She yelled as she continued to pummel physical damage onto the Murasame. She didn't use a weapon, only her mobile suits fists.

The vibrations kept Trent and Coniel moving inside of the cockpit. He quickly pushed up his Murasame and caught both of the Windam's fists with his own.

"Stop it!" Trent yelled as he pushed the Murasame to its feet and pushed back against the Windam. Coniel sighed in relief as she saw the Windam slide back slowly.

Beka's eyes were hidden inside of her cockpit but she continued to push against her enemy. She shook with anger as she did this.

It was then that Trent moved his Murasame's leg between the Windam's and then kicked one of them out. Beka screamed as her Windam fell to the ground, and saw the Murasame place it's knee onto the chest, and pushed the head up with its hand.

"Now give up already!" Trent yelled out.

Beka's eyes widened but she shook her head, able to fight off the bad feeling she received from the words. "N-no…I can't…"

"I said just quit!" Trent yelled once more, and his eyes widened to hear her suddenly scream. His shivered in fear as he listened to her scream, and then the red Windam pushed the Murasame with a good kick.

Trent and Coniel yelled as they were sent flying down the mountain, but Trent's quick thinking got him to start up the boosters just before they hit. Saving them from a gruesome explosion.

He looked up to see the Red Windam, staring down menacingly from a rock on the mountain. "I can't quit! I can never quit! I've got to keep going no matter what happens to me!"

Trents eyes widened as he stood his Murasame up on its legs, and his eyes widened suddenly at realization, "Her BLOCK word? It was quit?"

"I can't quit until I gain revenge! I'll slaughter all of you coordinators!" Trent heard and then he took in a quick breath, his hands twitched and he couldn't feel his controls any longer. Coniel looked over at him in worry, but could say nothing as Beka flew down to deliver another blow to the already battered Murasame.

"Is…is that why your fighting?" Trent whispered calmly through the comlink.

Beka growled her reply, a difficult to hear yes as she charged once more towards Trent's Murasame.

"Then…I'll just have to...erase your hatred along with you!" Trent yelled as well, watching as a seed fell between his eyes and exploded.

His yell continued as he charged his Murasame forward, and smashed into the Windam.

--------

Chris' felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked over his shoulder for a moment, "Trent…?"

"Price! Watch out!" Chris heard and turned just in time to pull up his shield at an oncoming strike dagger.

"Jaken! How are we doing with the beach!?" Chris yelled as he struck down the mobile suit, watching it explode and continued towards the beach were many had landed.

"We've got a lot of crossfire on the beach, but we've got some good positions too!" Jaken yelled as he led a team onto the beach and stayed inside of the large jungles for cover.

An explosion came up near him and he yelled in surprise before turning and firing his short range weapon in the direction it had come from, "We've still got some problems here, but if we're able to work together then we can clear the territory between the ships and the beach of enemies in no time!"

"Roger that, we'll start on it right away, keep your eyes peeled for the retreating forces!" Chris yelled as he quickly began targeting multiple mobile suits with his cockpit and fired his beams.

"Tyler, did you hear?"

"Roger that Karus, I'll cover you as you go in, how's that?"

"No problems, keep me covered!"

The two Murasame pilots transformed and flew into the fray of firing between mobile suits.

"Hit and runs, nothing else!" Karus yelled as he fired his beams on several mobile suits that fired back.

His beams hit the legs of the fast moving enemies, but Tyler was able to finish them off easily with a good hit to the cockpit.

"We make a good team buddy!"

Karus smiled and nodded, "You can say that again! How's Nara doing?"

"I heard she's helping out Rekos, the other sectors being cleared out quick!"

"And Dearka?" Halk called out as he charged through a mobile suit and joined up with the two Orb fighters. He looked away from them, but was generally concerned anyhow.

Tyler smiled as he answered "We lost contact with him, he and his men flew into the jungle to do more damage, but the fighting is still going on inside, so I can guess that he's still alive and well!"

This conversation, although between three soldiers, was heard by many who knew the Commanding Officer very well.

Yzak grimaced as he banged his fist against his chair, wanting to go and help his friend as soon as possible. His orders had not changed, and he was hoping that they wouldn't change until the reinforcements of the enemy came, but he still wanted to help.

As for Miriallia, her gaze was clear as she issued out orders that saved the life of the crew members more than once. Neire was fighting atop the deck of the Voltaire, but she felt respect and pride growing as she heard the orders issued out by the natural.

Her belief in a peaceful world between the two was slowly being rekindled by the flames of bravery that all the soldiers had shown by fighting together. The EA had shown themselves to be great allies as several soldiers fought alongside the coordinators.

There was unity in this battle against an enemy, it showed hope.

But it would not last…

"Captain, new mobile suits coming in from the Stratosphere!"

"What!?" Yzak yelled and looked up just in time to see several Zaft modeled mobile suits flying down to the surface and firing on the many Blue Cosmos mobile suits.

Many bore the Zaft insignia, but there was something wrong.

"Athrun! Menla! Did you guys know about this happening?"

Athrun shook his head, "The Zaft council is still inside of Orb because of the dangers of traveling, there's no way they could have prepared a reinforcement group this large in the short amount of time they had from all the way over on Earth."

"But then…" Menla started but gasped as she noticed something.

An EA mobile suit was suddenly cut in two by a Zaku with a Zaft insignia on it.

"What was that!?" Menla yelled and then contacted the soldier, "You there! What do you think your doing, that was an ally!"

"It doesn't matter…their all naturals…"

She gasped once more, before ordering her units to begin firing on that Zaft soldier. She couldn't continue though as she noticed that several other Zaft fighters started to do battle with the many EA mobile suits that were in battle.

"They…are they Zala Foundation!?" Athrun yelled and grimaced.

"They're taking advantage of the situation, by firing at both Blue Cosmos and EA at the same time…"

"But those are Zaft insignia, freshly embroideled!" Menla yelled out and then heard another Jaken call, "I know that soldier, we were trainees together. He's definitely in the Zaft military."

Yzak started and held a hand on his chin, "But then…why would they?"

"Damn it all!"

"You treacherous Coordinators!"

"I knew it! And just when I thought we'd finally reached peace!"

The com was filled with callings and jeers of this sort, it continued until a soldier yelled out, "We've got our mission here…we need to make sure we've finished off the Blue Cosmos base here, before we do battle with anyone else."

It was Zak Rayce, and just when Athrun was about to smile for a chance at repairing something that had been done by the stupidity of others, he heard him continue, "This battle and this bloodshed will be avenged ten-fold! But we will finish our first enemy, before we destroy our second! So just wait until then!"

And so he wondered, who was the second enemy? The Zala Foundation…or all of the Coordinators?

------

So honestly, how am I doing so far for my 13th chapter?

Not bad? Kinda bad? Pretty bad?

Anyhow, I'll be sure to get to work on it, but I'm trying to keep up with college and writing at the same time. What I am happy to say is that I think I've gotten back into my groove and can keep writing chapters in…oh two weeks? Maybe a week if I'm extremely lucky.

Anyhow, I'd like reviews to know how I am actually doing with my writing. I'm not the best, but this is practice for the future, I need your input!

XD

See you next time!  
Hawk Strife


	14. The Third Step in Battle

Damn! This took so long!

I'm sorry, I really am. I've just…I've had a hard writers block through this chapter. However, I think I'm over it, just a bit, but I'm definitely going to finish this story no matter what. I will do so!

Now…enjoy!

The battle inside of Gulnahan seemed to get farther and farther away from ending.

The people were safe, but the rest of the land was feeling the scorch of battle as the many mobile suits continued to do battle.

The skies above the sandy mountains were filled with the destructive power used by the mobiles suits.

And among the many pilots, two flew through the skies, skimming the earth below them.

"Riley! We need to bypass that mobile armor and take care of that gun, before any other ship gets taken down with it."

"Affirmative, and then?"

"We infiltrate with Last Hope, and take care of the mountain base for good!" Tristan said as he flew his Gundam Astray forward. He pulled out the Katana, slashing through the waist of a mobile suit in one swing.

"Tristan, the mobile weapon is still operational…" Riley said as her view centered in on the walking behemoth of a machine. She listened as Tristan chuckled nervously and then closed her eyes before shaking her head slowly.

"Right…yeah…we should take care of that first then!" No sooner had he said this did Riley move her Astray into a flanking position, behind the Mobile Weapon.

"We'll attack it in a pincer move then." She said calmly.

"Hey I'm the commander of this outfit!"

"Then come up with my ideas faster!" Riley shouted back and started firing on the back of the machine as she landed on higher ground of the mountain and took cover behind a large stone.

She moved the Astray over to the edge and then aimed her automatic over the side, pulling the trigger from behind her cover.

The Mobile weapon turned slightly and fired its machine guns straight towards the stone. Tristan landed on top of another stone and fired his Vulcan cannons, hoping to draw the attention of the giant.

It worked, as the machine guns quickly strafed up the other stone, and Tristan brought his shield up. Bullets bounced off of it, denting the shield and scratching it.

Tristan landed behind another rock as the bullets followed. It was then that Riley pulled out from behind her cover and fired her assault rifle. The bullets skid past the ground, and hit the legs of the machine. The Mobile Weapon faltered slightly, noticing the sparks coming from the leg.

Another explosion pushed the Mobile Weapon to the ground from behind, coming from a pair of hand guns. "I'm almost out of ammo, I can't keep this up Meryl"

"Shut up Vash, just keep firing!" The two Windam pilots argued, and watched as the Mobile weapon pushed itself off of the ground and aimed at the other two threats. Suddenly, a blade came out through the front of the chest area, and just as quickly was pulled out.

More sparks were emitted from the Weapon, before it fell to the ground and powered down silently.

"We did it!" Vash yelled out, before a laser beam suddenly crashed down beside him, causing him to quickly take cover.

"Damn it! We got their attention! We've got to get inside that base!" Tristan yelled as he turned his Astray and pushed the thrusters towards the entrance at the top. Riley followed with Vash and Meryl.

"You'll need our help!" Vash yelled, firing shots just above Tristan's shoulder.

The four mobile suits floated just in front of a closing door way, and Tristan pushed forward, putting his blade between the doors forcing it open. "Come on! Get in there!" He yelled, buckling slightly from the force of the doors.

Riley entered first, followed by Meryl and then Vash, before Tristan boosted, forcefully pushing him past the doors as they smashed behind him.

"They made it inside!" Trent yelled as he fired down on Beka, boosting up in the air. Coniel cringed her eyes as she hung onto her chair, watching as Beka fired back before flying past him and up above them.

Trent quickly aimed his gun up, but squinted when the sun appeared in his eyes. He growled but couldn't do anything, until Coniel screamed suddenly. Trent opened his eyes and saw his guns suddenly get slashed.

He dropped it, but it exploded and sent him to the ground, with the two screaming. At the last second, Trent pulled a lever, transforming the Murasame into its fighter form. It flew away from the ground just barely.

Trent turned the fighter and aimed it right at Beka. "I'll kill you!" He yelled suddenly, but stopped as he saw Beka's face, filled with fear suddenly appear vaguely before his eyes. He slowed down suddenly and was caught by Beka's mobile suit.

He looked up surprised to see the Windam so close, and with a tightening grip over his cockpit. "D-damn…I screwed up…" Trent said as he noticed cracks beginning to appear on his cockpit. He leaned down, his forehead hitting the screen.

"I'm sorry…Coniel…" He whispered, waiting for the end to come. Coniel only sat there in fear, unconsciously gripping onto Trent and pulled herself closer to him. She pushed her head against his arm, feeling like she wanted to cry.

"No chance!" A voice shouted, and a beam suddenly sliced through the Windams arm, releasing Trent and sending him into a freefall before he regained control and flew away. Beka looked around for the interferer, finding three Windams, one with a sniper beam rifle, still firing at her.

She hissed and then turned away, looking over at the damaged Murasame sadly before boosting away quickly. Trent pulled up, pushing the lever to boost towards her. The sound of a dying engine was all he and Coniel could hear as the Murasame began to fall. Trent quickly transformed, landing the machine onto the ground, tripping over the stones in the path.

The Murasame hit the ground hard, and Trent watched as many of the lights on the console went out one by one. The mobile suit shut down completely, and Trent and Coniel were left in the dark.

Another mobile suit landed beside him, with barely any electricity working, Trent could barely hear or recognize the voice. "Young man, are you all right?"

"I'm fine...and so is Coniel...but the mobile suit is shut down..."

"I see...well, you're near the village, get out and head there, make sure to take care of Miss Coniel."

"Who are you?" Trent asked quickly as the cockpit opened slowly. Trent crawling out with his handgun out. He looked up to see a mobile suit, covered in a tan cloak, colored silver and blue with two curved swords, one on each hand.

"The Sand Rock, that's all you need to know." The mobile suit then turned and slid across the sand, boosting right and left, dodging the bullets, slashing through two mobile suits in mere seconds. It then boosted up and landed in fron of the mountain base door, slashing through and boosting inside.

Trent only stood in awe as the battle continued above him. He was brought back to reality when Coniel pushed him from behind. "We need to go..."

Trent nodded quickly and led the way to Gulnahan.

Over in Panama, the battle had shifted to a confused state. Orb and Zaft forces kept their sorties together, while fights arose between the Earth Forces and the Zaft Reinforcements. As of yet, Athrun was still trying to find out who it was that sent the reinforcements.

"Commander! They-"

"Not now Petty Officer!" Athrun yelled.

"But the enemy is sending out reinforcements!"

Athrun's attention changed as he noticed several doors opening up and sending out enemy mobile suits. "Open Fire on those doors, send out all of the mobile suits!" Athrun yelled as he left another in charged and went to his mobile suit.

The Infinite Justice was prepped and ready to launch as Athrun climbed in. "Athrun Zala, Justice, Launch!"

In a flash of light, the I. Justice took off, along with Yzak's Custom Gouf. Kira then took off from another ship, followed by Mwu La Fllaga in the Akatsuki.

The Freedom and the Justice flew up high and stopped beside each other. "Ready Kira?" Athrun yelled, as the Justice aimed all his beams, alongside the Freedom.

"Ready!"

The two fired their multiple beams, watching as they cut through the reinforcements quickly and without any trouble.

On the ground, Dearka cheered as he rammed an axe straight through the cockpit of one of the reinforcements. "Don't give up men! We've still got work to do!"

Dearka watched as one of his men went down, losing the arm, but continued to fight anyhow. He didn't care how difficult this may have seemed. He didn't care that he and the five soldiers that had charged in hadn't lost a single soldier and had taken a large amount of land from the enemy. He simply fought, knowing that this battle needed to end. His mind was focused on the war, and in the back of his mind, he still felt her presence. Remembering another reason to keep fighting.

"Captain Dearka! The enemy...they're-!" Dearka quickly looked up, seeing an Orange mobile suit suddenly fly out and fire down on Dearka.

"It's the Tozac!" A soldier yelled as missiles were suddenly fired and laned on the ground, exploding on impact.

"Pull back!" Dearka yelled as he fired on the mobile suit. Dearka boosted forward, "Captain!"

"I said pull back!"

Dearka's mobile suit fired again, pulling out his axe and attacked the orange windam, the Tozac.

He heard a voice laughed, the man Yzak had told him was known as Qura.

"The great Dearka Elsman! You're certainly not the pilot that Yzak is, but I'll be sure to finish him off after killing you!" He fired his chest beam straight at Dearka, who dodged and boosted forward, firing his laser.

The beams missed barely scathing the armor of the Tozac as Qura merely fired his Chest beam in return. An explosion sounded behind Dearka, as the ground exploded. But he didn't turn and merely charged right into the Tozac, his shoulder shield with spikes running through the head, exploding.

Dearka growled as he suddenly realized that the left arm of his mobile suit was now missing. He roared as he boosted again, but suddenly was hit, the cockpit now sporting a tear that Dearka could see the mobile suit through.

Dearka fell, and yelled as he kept firing his gun.

Miriallia's eyes widened suddenly, placing her hand on her head lightly. "Dearka..." She whispered before ordering, "Beam Cannon 3! Aim your fire at this location!" She yelled through the com, using a camera to pinpoint her target. She felt it, there was someone who needed help.

"Cannon 3 here! Are you sure? Dear-I mean the Captain is right there!"

"I'm sure..." Miriallia said and waited for a moment, "Cannon 3 ready!"

"Fire!"

The beam cannon on the side of th Voltaire fired, sending a beam straight at a half closed gateway.

Dearka looked up in surprised as bright green beams began to rain down on the base door. But also, it began to cut into the Tozac.

"No!" Qura yelled suddenly and turned his mobile suit over, seeing the right arm suddenly become blown away, before charging up and firing his chest beam. The beam cut above the ocean, finally impacting on the side of the Voltaire.

"We've been hit! Starboard side is on fire, decks two and three are beginning to flood!-"

"Forget the damage report! Just fix the problem!" Miriallia yelled out and looked over to her side, "Neire, I need you to launch and take care of the Starboard side!"

Neire didn't wait a second as she ran out of the bridge and over to her mobile suit.

Dearka was angered as he felt his mobile suit come back to life. He then boosted upwards again, his axe drawn with his right arm. Dearka slashed the Chest beam.

Sparks began to shoot out and electricity began to crawl out f the slash. "Damn it! The powers going out of control!" Qura yelled as he lost control of his mobile suit. Dearka worked fast as he piloted forward, kicking off of the Tozac sending it into the closing door of the base.

"You bastard Coordinators!" Qura yelled as the Tozac fell into the base, and the door closed. The Tozac landed, the electricity changing colors as it clashed into the metal surrounding it.

Outside, Dearka noticed his other four soldiers landing on the Voltaire, when the base behind him exploded suddenly. He looked back as the base was covered in a bright ball of light. A shockwave followed the explosion, sending the black Warrior Zaku toppling through the air with Dearka yelling.

"Captain!" The other soldiers yelled as they saw Dearka land into the ocean, the quick filling balloons surrounding his mobile suit quickly, keeping him afloat. Dearka looked around, feeling like a sitting duck, as the battle continued but to a lesser degree. To a certain extent, they'd finally been able to set the path towards victory, all thanks to Dearka and the men and women of the Voltaire.

The battle still continued, beams of light passing through the skies and mobile suits from all sides falling in pieces to the ground.

Dearka's mobile suit floated closer to the Voltaire, the hand stretched out towards Neire's Gouf. She grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. "I've got him!" Neire yelled.

"Ok, Voltaire! We're pulling back..." Miriallia ordered quickly, and the Voltaire began to move backwards, moving away from the fighting.

"What?" Wes yelled out, seeing Trent and Coniel running into the town.

Wes then looked around, seeing the Black Zaku and the Blue Strike laeving the battlefield.

"Damn..." Wes whispered as he turned the Savior towards the Mountain. "Somebody, give me a progress report!"

"Captain! There's a team of mobile suits inside of the base, their fighting towards the core."

Wes nodded and focused a camera on the doorway, it was closed with a second blastdoor. "Great...no one else is getting in there..."

"Sir! Two new mobile suits coming in!" A voice yelled out, and Wes turned seeing the two mobile suits he didn't want to see.

The Impulse and the Destiny.

Shinn Asuka looked down at the small town. "This place...I remember this place..." He said to himself.

Luna sighd and nodded, "Don't lose focus..."

"Why are we even here Luna?"

"We're here...in order to finish off the Blue Cosmos here..."

"And what about the Feds...and Orb?"

"...What do you want to do Shinn?"

Shinn didn't answer as he looked up, seeing the black mobil suit. The Savior. "I want...to fight that pilot one more time..."

With that, the Destiny suddenly charged towards Savior and Wes growled as he fired.

Down below, Trent and Coniel entered an empty house. "Wait...this is just a normal house..." Trent said as he kneeled down under a window.

Coniel nodded her head, breathing deeply and sweating a large amount. "The doors should be locked until the battle is over...this is the next best place."

Trent nodded, flinching as he heard shots fired along with a mobile suit flying overhead. "Guess there's fighting on the ground too..."

Coniel nodded, sighing and kneeling down, pulling on her shirt repeatedly to try and cool down. Trent noticed out of the corner of his eye as he took out a canteen of water, drinking a mouthful, before offering it to her.

She saw it and blushed before picking up the silver container and began to drink. She meant to drink only a mouthful, but the cool taste of water was too much and she ended up drinking half of the entire container, a stream of water running down the corner of her mouth.

She finished with a loud sigh of relief and capped the container, before giving it back. Trent picked it up, using the back of his glove to wipe the water on her chin before leaning against the wall.

She blushed again, looking over his suit. "Aren't you hot in that?" She asked, and Trent nodded after looking over his pilot's suit. He unbuttoned and unzipped the top part of his suit, showing his grey shirt below the surface of the thick pilot's suit.

He cringed as a mobile suit suddenly passed overhead, wind following behind it and blowing the sand around just outside the building. A sudden shot rang out and smashed against the walls.

"Down!" Trent yelled quickly, looking over the doorway quickly, before pulling back. He looked over to see Coniel crouched down in a corner, he then looked back, hearing another shot ring out and hit against the concrete of the house.

Trent quickly turned and fired his handgun. He spotted two rifled soldiers pulling back behind the corner of another house. Trent grit his teeth as he turned over the doorway and fired his handgun again. He looked surprised when one of the soldiers ran out and got hit by his wayward bullets.

Trent pulled back as an automatic fired on him suddenly. Trent fired two shots, suddenly hearing click. He cursed as he unloaded the clip and locked another one into it before cocking the gun. Without a second though, he turned again. He regretted it instantly, when he felt a searing pain cut through his left shoulder.

He fell, his hand tossing away the gun. He cringed as he quickly gripped his bleeding arm. He listened as someone ran towards the house. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable shot that would send him into the great unknown.

He heard the shot, and several following that, but no pain. He didn't even feel the shot hitting against him. He quickly opened his eyes, and looked up to see Coniel crouching over him with tears in her eyes, and his gun in her hand, smoking after being fired.

He looked down, seeing a Blue Cosmos soldier sitting on the ground against the wall, with his eyes open and lifeless.

"You did that…?" Trent whispered in surprise, but received no response as he continued, "wow…"

He then realized that he could hear sobbing, coming from above him. 'She's crying?' He thought to himself, 'She's been crying a lot during this battle…I guess she's never really seen a war up close…'

Trent pushed himself into a sitting position, using his good arm. He then felt another pair of arms pushing him slightly, helping him sit up. He heard another rip and hissed as he felt something tighten around the wound on his shoulder.

He did not complain, he knew he had no right to.

Inside of the base, the battle fiercely continued. Gigantic shots and bullets rang out, smashing against the wall. The floor was covered in empty shells. The Red Astray Mk. II and the normal Astray both fired their weapons into a hallway with a few other mobile suits.

"This is the last hall in order to reach the core of the base…"

"Tristen, don't we need to finish that journey on foot? How can we make sure that our exit is secure, if we leave our mobile suits?"

"I'm still thinking about it!" Tristen yelled suddenly. "We had to leave Vash and Meryl to cover the entrance. If we hadn't, we would have had to fight twice as many mobile suits on our way out!"

"That doesn't matter…we still need to deal with the problem…" Another round of fire suddenly broke through the hallways. The two Astray pilots quickly halted their argument.

"We don't have time for this! Riley, I'm going through" Without another word, Tristen boosted the Red Mk. II into the hallway with its blade drawn, and ducked under another round of fire before slashing a Strike Dagger in two.

He fired his vulcans towards another Strike, as the other enemy exploded. Tristen followed through the Vulcan attack with another slash. His slash cut through the head, and ripped through the shoulder, before he was suddenly pushed back by a few bullets.

Tristen yelled as he crashed against the wall. He opened his eyes, noticing a dead end of mountain wall behind the Blue Cosmos mobile suits. With an entrance on the ground, big enough only for people.

Tristen swore when his camera disappeared when the head was suddenly destroyed. The Red Mk. II shook with another shot ringing against the armor, when Riley boosted out, firing her weapon straight at the enemy mobile suits.

The injured mobile suit fell from the force of the impact, along with another whose cockpit exploded suddenly. Behind them stood two more mobile suits. Riley scoffed and pulled the trigger.

Her gun clicked, and she gasped. "Out of ammunition…" She said silently, discharging the empty clip and reaching over for another one. A sudden burst of automatic fire grabbed her attention, and she ducked, bringing up her shield in front of Tristen's Astray.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Tristen yelled as he tried to get his mobile suit to stand up, a burst of shells banging against his suit and forcing him down again.

Riley screamed, for the first time in her mission, as she kept her shield up. The force of the shells, pushing and pounding the shield closer to her mobile suit as she stayed, trying to protect herself and Tristen.

A sudden explosion sounded through the wall, grabbing the two pilots' attention. The mountain wall exploded in cloud and dust, two curved blades glinting as they slashed through the two other mobile suits.

From the cloud and dust, came Sandrock, the two other mobile suits lying behind it unmoving and silent. "Retreat"

The voice came through the com-system, but Riley did not react. The figure said so again, "Retreat, the core is booby trapped, explosives line the entrance."

Riley shook her head and quickly turned her Astray over to the Red Mk. II. "T-Tristen" She said, with difficulty of which she didn't understand, "We need-"

"I heard, I heard…" Tristen said suddenly and quickly flipped a few switches. He turned on the auxiliary cameras, seeing the other two mobile suits.

Tristen pushed the Astray Red Mk. II onto its feet slowly. "I'm ready…" Tristen said slowly, looking over the damage of the Mk. II, seeing as the temperature began to rise in many of the parts for the mobile suits.

"We're leaving!" Tristen said and boosted out, followed quickly by Riley. The Sandrock pilot quickly shouted after them, "I'll handle the core, just get out as fast as you can!"

The Sandrock then turned, facing the wall blocking the way to the core and raising its two curved blades, ready to strike.

"Damnit!" Wes yelled out as the Destiny slammed itself into his Savior. He pushed back, his saber already drawn and coming down on the Destiny's massive beam blade.

The two had battled for some time, but the rest of the battle around them had decelerated incredibly, with the Earth Fed-Orb-Zaft alliance finally able to push back the Blue Cosmos group.

The Savior suddenly pulled back and flew down to the ground, skimming the surface before landing behind a large boulder. Pulling out his beam rifle and firing it below the arm.

The beam split the air as it impacted against the Destiny's energy shield. Another large beam suddenly cut through and smashed against the boulder, sending the Savior flying.

Lunamaria breathed deeply as she took her Blast Impulse and used the twin beam cannons to burn the boulder to dust before aiming again towards the Saviour. She fired, but her shot was hit by another beam cannon, bending her shot and sending it harmlessly against the mountain.

Luna looked to the source and found the Ikros' Zaku with a beam cannon aimed right at her. She scoffed and dodged an oncoming beam while firing in return.

Shinn looked forward as he boosted his Destiny at the top speed, suddenly crashing it into the Saviour. "You die here!"

"Not on my watch!"

The Savior pulled out the beam saber and cut through the arm holding the long beam sword of the destiny. The sword fell and smashed into the left arm of the Saviour, cutting through it. It didn't matter very much as the Saviour slashed at the head of the Destiny before Shinn could react.

The skill level could be seen at that moment, the Saviour had won.

At that moment, four mobile suits flew out of the entrance to the mountain base. A rumble shook through the ground that tossed Coniel onto Trent in another strange position.

The rumbles continued and after another mobile suit jumped out and sped away into the desert, the mountain began to explode. Pillars of fire shot out from different holes as the insides began to burn heavily.

Wes turned to look only for a moment, before realizing that the Destiny had sped away. Looking for a retreat. Wes sighed as he looked up seeing the damaged mobile suit fly away with the Impulse close at its heels, firing on anything that came close be it friend or foe.

Later on, Wes and Ikros found Coniel signaling for a rescue. They found and sent Trent and Coniel to Captain Porters ship and had them sent to a medical room. The bullet was removed from Trent's shoulder, but nothing else could be done for the smaller injuries. This battle had been very costly, what with the destruction of the Zaft ship, and the many men and women who died without the chance to fight back.

Wes and Ikros were quickly debriefed by the Captain himself, and they soon received a message from Athrun.

The battle was finally over, and the message rallied through the com, stating that the Panama battle had ended in victory for the alliance. The cost had been heavy, and the news of the sudden interference of Zaft weighed heavily on the Earth Federation soldiers. Wes, however, continued to hope. He hoped that peace was just on the horizon, and that this interference would cause an unrest that would soon go away.

He shook his own head when he himself admitted, his wish would not come true so easily.

Whew! Finally finished this chapter. I had a hard time, and the fact that I finally finished the battle makes me feel better. Although I was late and of course there is never an excuse.

I am sorry and I hope that my readers don't hate me…too much?

Anyhow, please read and review. I really would like a few more reviews please!

Hawk Strife


	15. The Heart

Um..Hello all, looks like I finally made it into a decent working mindset. I like this chapter a bit. I warn you though, it might be a bit fluffy and slightly romantic. This is focused on the couplings after all, at least those that can go on.

There is no action, I'm saving that for the next chap. On with the show!

* * *

On Captain Porters ship, the Stratis, the three mobile suit pilots were all resting after a long and hard battle in the skies above Gulnahan. They were moving, slowly and sluggishly through the waters, on a course to rendezvous with much of the fleet over in Panama.

The trip would take two weeks, according to Captain Porter. Wes and Ikros did not complain, feeling their bodies ache after their battles with the enemy squadrons.

Wes stretched his arms and shoulders, still sore even two days after the end of the battle. He stood on deck, moving around and giving his limbs a good workout as he moved around. His body covered in sweat, he finally decided to take a break as he moved over to the railing and slumped against it, his arms crossed over the metal railing.

He sighed as he stared at the moving waters and the waves as they splashed silently against the hull of the Stratis. He began to lose himself in the last battle, thinking about the fight he had against Shinn.

Wes was lucky to be alive, and felt unsure as to how he had been able to survive that time. Again, death had nearly been handed to him by none other than the Destiny. He shook his head, "I can't take many more battles against that guy and come out alive…" He said to himself as he tried to find his reflection in the waters.

"Keep talking like that, and you're gonna start worrying us!" A voice said from behind. Wes looked over his shoulder, seeing most of the Last Hope Squadron, in uniform and standing alongside each other with a light smile on their face. Like him, they were also tired.

He then noticed Ikros standing alongside them, no smile seen on his face, but instead an empty look as he also tried to sit down and take a long break.

"This battle was tough…I can't help but feel tired…" Wes repeated and walked over to them, seeing James and patting his shoulder. James smiled as he gave his superior a light jab to the stomach.

"If you keep talking like that, we might not see you again."

"I fought through two wars already, and now I'm fighting a third. I can't help feeling tired…"

"You're starting to sound like an old man!" Hakros yelled to which Wes laughed a bit and shook his head.

"I don't think that's something he needs to hear….especially from you old man!" Meryl said suddenly and gave him a playful kick before moving over to Vash. Kuzzy, in the meantime, was busy talking, or at least trying to talk, to Ikros who would stare at the water, much like Wes had moments before.

"There are just…so many enemies…" Wes said finally before turning back to the squad he used to command. "They're getting better, and they're getting stronger. I've been in service the whole time as they sent out better and tougher mobile suits and pilots. I haven't had an easy time surviving."

Wes said and quickly moved through his group, walking back into the ship and stepping through the cold floor, heading to his room.

* * *

When Trent woke up, hours after his surgery, he was greeted by the sight of Coniel undressing. At that moment, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven, or that he was still alive and was about to go to hell.

He was happy to realize that he was wrong when Coniel immediately hugged him, still in her underwear, sending Trent into a world of feeling he'd only felt with one other woman. But this was, of course, felt different somehow. It wasn't stronger or weaker than how he felt every time he came across Beka, but it was…different.

After that situation, he continued to rest and heal as he stayed in his bed, Coniel continuing to care for him.

On the second day, when he woke up, he decided to ask, "Coniel?"

Coniel was already sitting there with a tray of food for him, ready to feed him. She stopped when Trent called her attention and stayed still, wondering what he would ask.

"Why….why are you still doing this?" He asked slowly, unsure if he was phrasing the question correctly.

Coniel tilted her head slightly, "Still doing what?"

Trent sighed and continued, "Still…taking care…of me?"

"I'm just trying to repay you. You…you saved my life" Coniel added and then looked away lightly.

Trent nodded and then asked, "So…this has nothing to do with that…um…" He started but could only blush.

She blushed in return, remembering the moment that they kissed accidentally and the sudden battle it caused with the red Windam. She quickly shook her head, the blush beginning to spread before she began to fiddle with her fingers.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything." Trent said and scratched his cheek nervously, before he continued, "And it's not like I'm ungrateful or anything…I'm very grateful that…that you're still here caring for me..."

Trent stayed silent after that, and leaned back against the pillow behind him. He felt slightly uncomfortable, but before he could take care of his pillow, Coniel had already moved and had a hand over the pillow.

She moved it, keeping her eyes away from his as she finally asked, "That girl…the one you fought against…"

Trent sighed as he leaned back against her his pillow, feeling her arm against his head. She rubbed her fingers over his neck lightly before finally asking, "Do you…care about her?"

Trent couldn't answer, he didn't know what to say or even how to say it. Coniel then gave another question, "Would you…kiss her?"

Trent nodded, absent mindedly, not really thinking about why or when. Only that, if given the chance, he honestly would kiss her.

Coniel sighed before looking down, "Would…would…you kiss…me?" She said and finally looked to his face, waiting for an answer.

She'd never felt this way before, especially not for a man. She'd wanted to fall in love, like any girl, but she wanted a brave hero, not a wimp. She'd thought that he was nothing more than that, but the battle had shown her differently.

She waited for an answer, wondering if she would eventually be ignored, just like that last man she'd once cared about. She then began to pull back, not wanting to feel more pain, before she felt physical warmth over her hand.

She then felt a pull and looked back into his eyes seeing a smile, before feeling warmth over her lips. She kissed him in return. Her hands wrapped themselves round her neck as she kissed him.

She pulled away slowly, letting out the breath she didn't know she held. She leaned down again and placed her head against her chest. She heard his heartbeat, and felt his chest go up and down with every breath.

Trent smiled, as he smelled her hair. It was then that he realized he was happy.

* * *

"So…now that we've seen just how badly the battle ended…what else do we need to consider?" Said Yzak, his hand under his chin looking bored, even though there was a small bandage on his forehead, proof of just how difficult the last battle had been.

"Another legend Mobile Suit…" Jack Porter stated as he flipped through several files before finally revealing the blue and white mobile suit with two curved blades. "Aka the Sandrock Gundam"

"Another one?"

"That's three so far, isn't it?"

Athrun sighed, listening as the trusted Captains of the EA, Zaft, and Orb ships squabbled lightly. "Enough, what information can we tell about the creator of these Mobile Suits?"

"Not very much sir" A Captain from the EA replied. He was older, and had once been a part of the Council before his pushes for peace finally brought him back down to a Captain for a battleship. "From what I learned when I was a councilmember, there was a man who studied and was stating that he would create the blueprints that would allow for these mobile suits to be built."

"What man?" Miriallia asked.

"His name is Dr. Menr, he was a high-ranking scientist, working for the EA's top secret weapon development. He had a strong responsibility made towards the creation of the first five mobile suits, the X-series, for the Federation before he suddenly disappeared"

Another batch of whispers began lightly, but it ended as the old Captain continued.

"He promised the EA that only a few years after the X-series, he would be finished with the five legendary mobile suits."

"Do we know what happened to him?" Athrun asked, his hands over his lips in thought.

"I can only guess that different factions were able to get a hold of him and his work. I would think Blue Cosmos had the better chance of grabbing his work, however, these last reports show that these mobile suits prove themselves to be anti-Earth Federation and anti-Blue Cosmos."

There were several nods from the other Captains. It was then that Captain Porter spoke out. "There's another piece of work that I remember Dr. Menr was working on. Extended…"

"That forbidden book…" Yzak whispered, his hand rubbing over his temples.

"Actually it was another level…something that would be known as the High-Class Extended."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Yzak counted, not sure if he needed to hear anymore.

"Dr. Menr was a humane scientist. He felt outraged when they came to him, asking to continue the Extended project that had been going on, forcing the children to be completely dependant on the drugs that enhanced their capabilities."

Jack sighed as he shook his head in thought and continued.

"I knew Harry…Dr. Menr was…is a good man. And he told me that his ideas for the High-Class Extended would allow them to continue living life as normal people after the wars were finally over. He did not want to create pilots who's purpose in life was to die. Instead…he wanted to save Extendeds, realizing that there was no other way to try and reach a coordinators level in skill."

"I'm sure he's happy about that fact" Yzak countered spitefully, remembering his battles against some of the extended in the second war.

"I don't think I can believe that he wanted the war to go this far…I'm sure that he wants it to end peacefully…"

"It's fine Jack," Athrun said as he nodded his head. "Thank you for your information, I hereby call that this meeting be adjourn-"

"Wait Athr- I mean, Commander! What about…Dearka and his men?" Miriallia shouted suddenly, the first words she spoke during the entire meeting.

"Hmm…what do you mean?"

"If…" She started, unsure if she could continue and be taken seriously before taking a straight face, surprising even Yzak, as she firmly stated, "If it weren't for Dearka's bravery and skill along with that of his men, we wouldn't have been able to turn the tide of the battle, even when the enemy sent out their reinforcements."

"…Well, I suppose I can agree with that…" Menla stated and scratched her cheek, "What would you suggest we give him?"

"Um!..." Miriallia started, getting put on the spot and almost unable to answer, "A…um, a medal?"

Athrun chuckled lightly before shrugging, "When we get back to Orb…"

Miriallia sighed and nodded her head smiling, to which Athrun finally said, "This meeting is now adjourned!"

* * *

Yzak's ship, Yzak Joule was laying back against his chair as he read through a small number of reports. It was then that the door to his office opened, but he didn't look up to see who it was. Instead, he said, "Get out, I'm busy…" with a bored and tired tone.

"You should be busy resting," A female voice said, making him raise his head to see that it was Shiho.

"Lieutenant Hashenfuss…how can I help you?"

"You can take a break Yzak"

"It's Captain Joule while-"

"While on duty…you're not supposed to be on duty…"

Yzak sighed and shook his head as he quickly stood up, and walked over to where she stood. "I have too much work"

"No you don't"

"And how would you know?" Yzak questioned spitefully.

Shiho shrugged and smiled in return before leaning in and whispering, "Because…it's always been like this…"

Yzak pulled back a bit, a frown on his face and a blush on his cheeks. "Well…that doesn't prove anything!"

"Yes it does! I've seen you work before, I was there in the last two wars…I saw you…I don't want to see that same Yzak that simply shut himself away because he wasn't able to save some people!"

"Well what's wrong with that!?" He yelled at Shiho, seeing her suddenly step back, he continued, "I've done…so many terrible things…"

Shiho narrowed her eyes and came right up to Yzak before slapping him across the cheek. Yzak looked over at Shiho in surprise, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

"If you hadn't fought…then so many other people today would be dead! Dearka, Ezaria and even me!" She shouted, now forcing Yzak to step back. His eyes seemed unfocused. This was a weak Yzak, and one that Shiho wanted to get rid of. She hated to see Yzak as an indecisive person, it wasn't the man he truly was.

Shiho grabbed onto his collar, trying to force out the cowardly form of Yzak as soon as she could. "You are a soldier…people die and are able to live because of what you do. You need to remember both the good and the bad of what you do."

Yzak stayed silent, turning his head and trying to look away. Shiho grabbed the side of his face and brought his eyes to stare into hers. "You are much stronger than this…the strongest soldier I know and the only one I trust completely."

* * *

"Shinn…"

In the desert, covered in sand and wind. Two mobile suits and two pilots laid down.

Shinn was covered by a blanket, several wounds covered by bandages on his arm and leg. Wounds from the last battles with the Saviour.

Luna stayed by his side, as she dressed his wounds. She did her best to keep him away from the dangers of the desert and of fighting.

They were in peace after the second war, moving from place to place, staying together. She relied on him, just as much as he relied on her. They were together and began to realize that their dependence which had started during the war, became real and true love.

She'd only wished that he hadn't seen the report about the Saviour and the attacks. She could not stop him and could only follow in order to make sure that he somehow came back alive.

She looked over his bandaged wounds again, sighing before she kissed his cheek. The wind blew and she bent over, covering his face from the harsh sands.

She closed her eyes and waited, listening to the whistle of the winds blowing against her ears. She swore as she felt shards of sand enter her ears but tried to ignore it for her love.

After the sand finally began to pass and the winds calmed down, she noticed that there was a shadow over them. Her eyes widened before she turned and looked up at the mobile suit behind them. The Sandrock.

"Shit…"

* * *

Elsewhere, on a ship heading towards a small base, secluded from the rest of the world were the three Extended pilots. Beka and Rena held light smiles on their faces as they wrapped their arms around a grey-haired middle aged man with round glasses on the bridge of his nose and a white labcoat around his body.

This man, a scientist, hugged the two women in return, holding them gently as a father would his daughters. They all smiled lightly, happy to have each other as the man looked up at Warec.

Warec was leaning against the wall, looking away with an uncaring expression on his face. He was a man, he didn't want to hug.

"Dr. Menr…"

"Otou-san…"

The two girl mumbled as they hugged onto him, their fingers latched onto his coat creating wrinkles. He didn't care, it had been too long since he'd last seen them. He'd cared for them and made them the soldiers they were, he had regretted it ever since and he was happy to see each of them still alive even after the battles.

"How have you all been?" Dr. Menr asked after the girls had finally let him go.

"We've fought against some really strong people Otou-san! This one guy in Orb is really cute!" Beka said with a cheery face and jumped around a bit at the thought.

Menr smiled and nodded, "Really? Well maybe when the war is over, you'll be able to talk to him, how about that?"

"Do you really think so?" Beka said with teary eyes, to which Dr. Menr simply nodded.

Rena rolled her eyes while Warec scoffed lightly. Rena however then bit her nail as she looked up to the man she respected greatly.

Dr. Menr quickly noticed and looked at her with a smile, "Yes Rena?"

Rena blushed as she spoke, "I also…happen to have met a pilot…I don't know what he looks like…however…I have fought against him for…a while now…"

Dr. Menr nodded and placed a hand over her head. "You could feel his mind…" Rena could only nod and smile.

"He felt…chaotic…he was a coordinator…yet he was also calm and strong..."

"Falling in love so soon?" Warec interrupted suddenly and mockingly. The two women narrowed their eyes towards him and looked away quickly.

"Now now Warec…" Menr said before he too was interrupted by him, "No…I don't care. I'm tired of this, I just want to kill them…I want to make sure they're all gone…"

Warec looked away before walking off, scoffing as he picked up a capsule and taking a few pills suddenly.

"Warec!"

"Shut up!"

Menr looked on as Warec left and sighed, sitting down behind his desk. He looked over at the reports of the three pilots, knowing that the other two pilots were behind him.

He sighed, gripping his hand over Warec's report. "Always…they always take you away…"

"We won't fall…" Beka said and hugged her father fiercely, followed by Rena. Once again, the three hugged each other. For the same reasons, they needed each other and supported each other.

* * *

Back to Wes, his eyes narrowed as he looked over the screen to his mobile suit. He sighed as the figures came together bit by bit and digit by digit. He sighed in relief slightly, realizing that he felt a bit more relaxed.

He sighed as he looked over the cold and metallic interior of the Black Saviour Mobile Suit. He stopped typing suddenly, a blinking square on the screen after a series of letters, lines and numbers.

"Nina…" Wes said, the image of the blue-haired scientist, hooked on the top of his cockpit. He pulled it down, feeling over the smooth surface, looking at the smile.

He sighed, he had begun to forget about her. Their relationship had always been strained, at least that was what he started to believe. He sighed as he put the picture back.

He moved his hands away from the pale typing board, before sliding his fingers around the throttles of the mobile suit. His tan fingers felt the cool texture of the controls.

His eyes continued to scope the blinking lights, switches, and knobs to his mobile suit. Wes then pulled his hands away suddenly, feeling the skin of his fingertips begin to itch. It was…a strange sensation. Like power coursing through his blood and surging through his fingertips and into the mobile suit.

Or maybe it was the mobile suit giving him power?

He couldn't answer the question with any sureness.

The days passed while the Stratis moved on, finally meeting up with the fleet that attacked Panama. The scorch marks were able to tell most of the battle. The fleet was injured and was limping on the way to Carpenteria, the one where the conflict began.

Wes, Ikros, and Trent finally got together with Peter, Chris and the rest of the pilots. The fleet came together and mourned the loss of several soldiers that each had met and fought alongside.

"It was harsh…"

Wes said and shook his head smiling. "Not as grand as yours though…"

"Nothing was grand about that battle…and yours was pretty long and drawn out…I can't imagine how hard that must have been…" Chris replied

"This is…really starting to get out of hand…" Ikros said as he drank water from a cup, realizing that he needed a small bit of alcohol. Something to go into his system and make him feel a bit better.

Out of all of them, Trent was the only one who seemed to have some kind of spark. He wasn't incredibly jumpy but he was smiling every now and again. It wasn't long before Chris noticed.

"Trent…did you get laid?" Chris openly asked, causing Trent to stammer and blush. He tried to speak, but none of the guys were able to get a word in or out until Trent finally calmed himself down.

"I did not get…laid" He said quickly and simply, much to the disappointment of the guys. "You did make out though…" Chris continued and Trent could only look away and scratch his cheek before nodding once.

The guys finally laughed. A laugh that they all really needed as they tried to get Trent to speak up and tell about the girl that had gotten his heart after the battle. Trent, in return, did his best to fend them off and ignore their questions.

His blush when Wes suggested it was Coniel told all.

* * *

Whew, got past that one pretty quick. No action I know, but I had to focus on the romance a bit. Just a bit, I didn't give a conclusive finale to them…well because the story isn't even over yet. Not even close!

It's short too, or short-er but oh well.

So I'll be seeing you! Read and Review please!  
Hawk Strife


	16. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

I bet you thought I was dead. That's ok, I thought so too. Anyhow this chapter's translation is "IF YOU WISH PEACE, PREPARE WAR" I'm sure you'll understand the meaning once you read through the chapter. I'll hope you do, cause if you do then I've written well.

Let me know how it goes at the end. Sorry for the delay!

--

Off the Coast of the Orb Union, the Island of Mejarah looked on as they saw a battle unfold far away. Mobile Suits fought each other over the ocean, too far to tell who was the enemy, and who was the ally.

As the civilian people watched in fear, Orb Union officials drove up to the cliffs in a jeep. One of the soldiers called out for the radio to be ready as he searched for the mobile suits that had been defeated, and the mobile suit that was fighting still.

"This is Sergeant Mitchell, reporting sight of enemy and friendly mobile suit, some destroyed or disabled.

Contact: Gouf Custom remains, Zaft emblem, destroyed.

Contact: Red Windam, Blue Cosmos, In Combat.

Contact: Blue Strike Custom, Blue Cosmos, Disabled.

Contact: Black Zaku, Blue Cosmos, Disabled.

Contact: Red Zaku remains, Zaft emblem, Severe Damage.

Contact: Murasame, Orb Union...Severe Damage.

Live Combat Contact: Earth Federation mobile suit in combat with each other. Impulse Gundam, Savior mobile suit, request immediate support and suggestion!"

An explosion sounded suddenly, and Mitchell pulled down his binoculars so as not to be blinded by the explosion. After it dissipated, he looked through his binoculars again, and saw the Impulse fly away. He could not find the Savior's mobile suit anywhere.

"Update...Savior has been destroyed. Impulse is sporting Blue Cosmos emblem. Be advised, reinforcements from the Zaft-Orb-Earth Federation Alliance are on their way to port, possible casualties. All medical teams on standby."

--

Three Days before

--

"Captain Zala, I've received word from Miss Cagalli. She has an urgent message for you sir."

Athrun looked up from his desk, over to his First Mate, and nodded. "Thank you, I'll converse with her here."

"Aye sir." He responded with a quick salute, turning around and walking out the door back to the Bridge.

Athrun turned a screen on, looking onto the face of his wife. He smiled slightly, but he received a face with no smile at all.

"Athrun, there's an Earth Federation Battleship on our waters, outside of Mejelah."

His eyes widened in surprise before asking, "What!? How long has it been there?"

"Two days, and they haven't responded to our communications."

"Is it just the one?"

"It is, and it's just outside of its range for firing. There don't seem to be any beam weapons on board but still..."

"This is a breach of our waters..." Athrun finished for her. He understood the severity of what was happening. He nodded, ending the call after telling her to take care of herself and the twins.

He leaned back against his chair, sighing as he brought up a screen for each of the Captains for the Earth Federation. He needed to contact someone he could trust amongst them, Jack Porter was the one.

--

Later that day there was a meeting, between all of the Captains in Zaft and Orb, as well as a few of the Earth Federation. Admittedly, only a tenth of the entire Earth Federation fleet was invited to show, under Athrun's scrutiny of their past and present combat records. For the most part, the Captain's were fairly young and open-minded, that was what he needed.

As he explained the situation occurring in Orb, he knew that a decision had to be made quickly. He did not want to start a war with the Earth Federation, and any direct assault would bring about such a thing. One thing was obvious at the end of his explanation, none of the Earth Federation Captain's were aware of this breach happening.

"Are we sure that all of the Captain's that are in the fleet are unaware of this?"

"I've heard nothing from the other Captain's, but it is possible that this is a Blue Cosmos plan, and many of the soldiers are in on it." Captain Porter answered with a serious expression on his 

face. He knew what this would mean for them, for peace, if it turned out that the Earth Federation was preparing to betray their allies.

"What do you suggest then?" Dearka asked, "We can't start asking every single Earth Fed Captain. What if we're wrong? We could be destroying the chance at peace we've been working for."

"It's better than being caught off guard Captain Elsman." Yzak responded eloquently.

"Are you sure about that?" Dearka responded. There was silence after his comment.

Captain Porter, at that point, decided to intervene, "At the very least, we should try to find out what this ship is doing there. I suggest we send in a small strike team to understand and react accordingly to the situation. If they don't intent to answer to hails, they'll answer to force. I would be willing to send in my own team."

"An Earth Federation team sent in to assess the situation?" Yzak brought up, but Athrun continued, interrupting him.

"It is a good idea, and it would deter the blame from the rest of us. But, I'm afraid that at the moment it is very difficult to believe Earth Federation only information."

Captain Porter nodded, he had expected that somewhat, but he had another team in mind. "In that case, we should send in this team." He pressed a button, showing four faces. "They're a good team, even though Wes is from the Earth Federation, he'll be willing to lead and find out about this. He's quite for the idea of peace between the three major groups."

The 'council' was silent for this information, and Yzak was the one who interrupted it. "I believe...that I agree with Captain Porter. I would support this team going into the battle. I've already seen each of these pilots in battle before."

Dearka nodded, "I support this decision. It's a good mix, one Earth Federation and one Orb Union."

"With two Zaft pilots to make sure that the information is true." Menla continued with a nod, "These four will have no problems dealing with any situation that the Battleship could bring up."

It was agreed then that this mission would be led and finished by the four pilots. I was also agreed that this mission would be important to the peace for the future, and that the mission 

would be kept top secret. Just after this, each of the pilots were taken to a specific room on Yzak's ship, and placed under house arrest.

--

Two days before

--

Wes, Trent, Ikros and Peter awoke inside of the room meant for raw recruits. There were four bunk-beds, each with a soldier wondering why they had been under house arrest since the day before. They all looked up at the sound of the door opening, and Yzak Joule entering through it with Shiho and Prine standing outside.

"All right, you've been waiting long enough I hope..." Yzak began as he looked over each of the pilots. Wes and the others got out of the bunks, standing on the ground. Wes' arms were crossed as he leaned back, waiting for an explanation.

Yzak nodded, understanding the silence as he began the story on the Battleship. He continued to explain the decisions of the 'council' and the decision to keep it as secretive as possible. "As such, we arrested each of you on suspicion of bringing alcohol on board."

Peter gave a weak cough that brought Yzak's eyebrow up before shaking his head. "Just...it's been made public among the fleet. We even have evidence prepared. All you need to know is that the sortie is tomorrow, at the crack of dawn. The Fleet is already moving in that direction, but we won't get there until tomorrow afternoon."

"We'll barely make it there by sunrise." Wes said dubiously.

"Exactly, it should give you enough time to figure out their motives and react. Of course, if their motives are less than honorable, you have your order to not hold back. I promise you, we will protect you as best we can."

"Sir..." Trent stated with a slightly raised hand, "With all due respect. We'd do it even if you didn't promise us protection."

Yzak smiled slightly, watching as Ikros gave Trent a strong pat on the back and nodded in agreement. Wes nodded as well, while Peter looked a little unsure. "Ensign Geral?"

"I...I'd like to tell-"

"She'll be informed. I need to make sure you all stay here, I'm sorry. But Cassidy will be made aware of the situation, don't you worry." Yzak stated as he looked over the four. Peter looked down slightly disappointed but strengthened his look as he nodded. "Good. Then we're ready, steel yourselves for the day. You'll be leaving in the morning."

--

Morning of the Fateful Day

--

It was a few minutes before midnight. There was a small opening made in the window for each ship. No one was aware of the movement going on inside of Yzak's ship. Four pilots sneaking out of the room, and moving towards their mobile suits.

As they arrived to the hangar, Wes stopped in front of his mobile suit. His heart was beating strongly, and his nerves were on edge. He remembered this feeling, fear. But not just any fear. This was the same feeling he had before his first battle ever. The fear of being able to do the right moves and survive to come home.

He shook his head as he grasped onto the rope, feeling it tighten and lift him up into the cockpit. As he sat down, placing a hand over the controls. His heart slowed down, but he could still feel it beating against his chest strongly. He placed the helmet over his head, and patted the side.

"Are we ready?" He asked through Morse code with blinking lights. He received confirmations from the three mobile suits, and he nodded. The four mobile suits moved away from the holsters, moving to silent launch through the tunnels.

After a few minutes, they were near the edge of the open hangar. At Midnight, the operation began. Ikros and Peter launched out first boosting forward. Trent and Wes transformed and flew under them, waiting for them to land before boosting forward at full throttle.

"Peter..." Came through the Gouf Ignited's communication, with slight static.

"Cassidy?" Peter answered unsure.

"Just...take care of yourself all right?"

"Aw, you know me. Afraid and unwilling to risk more than I have to."

"You know that's not true..." She responded as she saw the distance grow, and the time she had to speak to him through an encrypted line shrank.

"I'll live. It's going to be ok."

"...Don't go back on your word..."

The connection cut off. And Peter was left with an empty feeling. He could only hope he could make it up to her when he got back.

The trip to Mejarah was calm and quiet. All focus was on flying there as fast as possible. As the sun began to rise in the East, in the direction they were heading, the target came upon their sights.

Wes silently flew downwards to the ocean's surface, slowing down and falling out of radar. Wes transformed, landing silently against a small hill a few miles away from the battleship. The other three landed just beside him.

"All right, let's keep this encrypted and decide our options." Wes stated as he kneeled Savior down, and turned off the PS armor, saving power.

"We need to be sure of what they want to do. We need to be sure before we act." Trent stated with certainty.

"Which means...we need to establish direct communication with them." Ikros added.

"We should have someone on standby...you know, as hidden backup in case they decide not to be as friendly as we are." Peter added, looking over at each of them. "I think Trent would work best with this, he has a beam rifle, it's the longest and most precise weapon we have in all of our arsenals."

Wes nodded, "All right then, we're all going to set up then. Trent, you're going to move out now, set up at a nice and covered spot. Good sniper position and turn off the power until we start. Ikros, you're to take your machine gun and get as close as you can behind any kind of good cover. Peter, you're to stay alongside Ikros and back him up however you can."

"And you Commander?" Ikros then asked.

"I'm the bait of course." He responded grinning before looking over at the rising sun. "You have twenty minutes to set up. When you reach positioning, shut off power until the operation starts. Initiate radio silence, and stay on the ground. Good luck, over and out."

Wes moved Savior away from the group and moved through the tall jungles as calmly as he could. He did not look back at the rest of the group, knowing that they were following their orders.

Wes reached the near top of a mountain overlooking the Earth Federation battleship. There he waited, below the peak, and shut off the suit after gripping onto the mountain tightly. He waited for the next ten minutes. He walked out of the suit and looked over at the surroundings. Far away, he saw some shifts in the trees, guessing that Trent was taking position.

It was a good position, far away and moving up altitude. Wes smiled, he would need to have Trent train under Reallia as a sniper for a while. He took a look around to see if he could find Peter or Ikros. He did not, which was just as well. They would probably attack first, using guerilla tactics, which would work best in these conditions.

Wes on the other hand, was without a battle tactic for himself. Either way, the time for action was coming and he was not going to be caught off guard. After he returned inside of his mobile suit, he waited a few more minutes before starting up his mobile suit again.

Savior climbed onto the peak of the mountain, PS armor shifting on. The dark Savior stood at the peak, looking over as Wes opened communications and hailed the battleship.

"Earth Federation vessel, this is Commander Wes Baxter. I am here to review the reason and operation that you are here for. Please respond over."

There was no response, and Wes continued to wait for a bit. "Earth Federation vessel, if you do not respond. I will be forced to-"

An interruption came from a beam suddenly fired on him from within the water. Several missiles exploded out of the water and homed in on him, bursting towards him at full speed. Wes dodged the beam barely, jumping off of the small hill. He transformed and boosted away, following the surface of the water as the missiles impacted the water and the coastline. Wes sighed, opening up his com-link and connecting to his comrades. "Everybody wake up, you know what to do!"

After gaining some altitude, he noticed a beam come out from the mountain and cut along the side of the battleship. "Direct hit Trent, nice goin'!"

Several bullets began to shoot out from the jungle, impacting the hull of the ship on both sides. Grenades were thrown and exploded on the side of the ship.

Wes grinned as he looked down, seeing the smoke come off of the ship. "Looks like this should be done quickly..."

"Wait a sec..." Trent said over the com. Wes paid more attention to the ship after that, coming around for another pass. An explosion came from the ship, before the armor suddenly broke apart and sank into the ocean. The fires were extinguished and the smoke disappeared.

He saw something float just out of the surface of the ocean. A submarine, "Damn it!" Wes yelled as he transformed again, dropping out of the sky and landing heavily on the deck of the submarine. "Ikros, Peter, get on here! Trent, keep a look out!"

Wes ducked as one of the cannons on the deck suddenly fired at him. His Vulcan canons fired on it, impacting and piercing through it. The cannon exploded, and Wes focused on what to do. He grinned as he pulled out two beam sabers and stabbed into the deck of the submarine. He pulled them apart, watching as Ikros and Peter landed beside him.

"Peter! Use your shield to pry this thing open!" Wes yelled as he turned, raising his arms over Peter with his rifle out, firing at another cannon firing back. Peter jammed his shield between the slice Wes had made.

Peter turned his shield inside of the hole, making it wider. "Almost!" He shouted as he turned it in the other direction. "Open hole!" He shouted and ducked under Ikros as he fired his shield cannon in front of him.

"Never thought we'd be able to put this plan into action." Ikros said as he picked out several grenades from the belt.

"Don't you love being prepared." Said Trent over the com-link.

Ikros laughed, picking out four grenades and dropping them into the hole. "Move it!"

The three mobile suits jumped off, boosting into the forest as explosions began to sound from inside the submarine. A burst of flame came out through the deck, as the ship began to tilt and sink.

"Haha! Looks like we did it!" Wes shouted in glee.

"That's not all we did..." Ikros said with wide eyes, and a shocked tone. "Look at the emblem on the side of the ship..."

Wes did so, noticing a distinct letter on it. "Zaft...what the hell is a Zaft submarine doing here?"

"With an Earth Federation ship on top as a disguise?" Peter asked with as much surprise.

"Hey guys? I think we've got company..." Trent stated with an unsure tone in his voice.

"What kind?" Wes asked but did not receive an answer. A beam came down on him from above, and he barely blocked it with his shield. He looked up, noticing several mobile suits dropping down through the atmosphere.

"Trent! Who are they?" Wes shouted as he aimed upwards at the mobile suit firing at him, and shot through the chest, getting an almost immediate explosion.

"I'm seeing...a Z! It's the Zala Foundation!"

"You mean it's not ZAFT? Are you sure?" Ikros yelled as he dodged another shot and ran towards the back of the mountain. He had hidden his beam cannon there, but assembled it quickly before taking it out and blasting through two GINNs in one hit.

"Positive, those armor colors are distinctive." Peter answered. He took cover near the mountain, taking care of his suit and biding his time. He had no long range weapons, but the minute something landed near him, he would be ready to lash out.

"What the hell then? Are they trying to invade?" Wes asked as he shot down another mobile suit.

"Not if I can help it!" Trent yelled. He stood from his location and began to fire in quick succession. His hits were fairly accurate for the distance he had. He shot down GINNs left and right, before he was spotted and shot at. "Damn! Position is compromised; I'm heading towards you guys."

He transformed into flight mode and flew off over the jungle, trees and leaves following in his wake.

"Well, now I know it's the Zala foundation for sure." Wes said suddenly, still firing upwards. "Looks like we've got two legends coming down."

"Make that three Wes," He heard Ikros say over the Com. Wes looked up to see the two familiar Gundams. The Heavyarms and the Wing Zero. But there was one more that came through the atmosphere, a dark one covered in a black cloak, and wielding a deadly beam scythe.

"Deathscythe! Damnit, keep shooting!"

--

From above, the Zala foundation fighters continued to move down firing. Suri continued to unload with the Gatling guns on the Heavyarms. She found the Savior mobile suit easily, "Oho, that upgrade looks good on him!"

A beam sliced through a GINN near her, but she paid it no mind as she continued downwards. "Is this really worth the Submarine that blew up?" TJ said over the com-link, regular beam rifle firing down. "There are only four of them you know..."

"This will get Orb's attention easily. This will show them just what we are willing to do!" Said a male voice on the com. Suri grit her teeth, the sound of his voice seemed to annoy her greatly, especially after a certain incident. She shook her head as she noticed the Savior go deeper into the jungle.

"This will get their attention all right, but if we don't actually destroy these four mobile suits, what's that going to say about the Zala foundation in general?" Suri responded spitefully. She fired into the jungle, tearing through a few trees, just before she landed on the ground.

"Well Suri my dear," She felt like hissing at him, "We'll just have to make sure that does not happen."

The Deathscythe landed on the coastline, twirling the beam scythe around before slicing through a good part of the jungle. It continued to cut through with easy single strokes. "This is pretty easy, we'll find them in no time."

"No Kenny," Suri said with a smirk as she saw him slice through some trees. They fell, showing a hiding Gouf mobile suit in front of him. "They'll find you." She fired on the Gouf, but it had already boosted through and smashed its shoulder into the Deathscythe.

The horn impaled itself into the left shoulder of the Deathscythe, getting the pilot to growl in anger. It tried to slash through the Gouf, but Peter pulled back in time to dodge.

"So much for an easy victory...these guys really are pros." TJ said as she fired down in order to protect the Deathscythe. The Gouf jumped back, firing up at the Wing Zero, before rolling and bringing out his whip.

"Would pros really leave one man behind in order to save their skin?" Kenny said with a laugh, as if he'd figured the team out already.

"No Kenny, they wouldn't," TJ answered as a beam cannon fired on her. She took a direct hit, using her shield to take most of the damage. She landed roughly on the ground, with the Heavyarms standing in front of her and firing into the jungle.

"They're smart. They may not have many men, but that just lets them hide better in the jungle. We really overestimated them TJ..." Suri whispered as she continued to fire. She didn't notice a mobile suit suddenly come online beside her.

A Murasame charged forward, shield in front, tackling into the Heavyarms and sending her shots up and into the air. She screamed as she crashed into the ground, and the Murasame jumped off with the momentum, transforming into flight mode and taking off.

"Is it really taking us this long to take care of four men!?" Kenny yelled out suddenly, hacking and slashing at the trees in an erratic form. It slashed with the only good arm it had, the right arm, and found its hand caught in the grip of a whip. Electricity shot through the arm and into the systems.

The Deathscythe's computer nearly fried itself before Kenny pulled back with a yell. He fired his Vulcan cannons off at the Gouf, who merely pulled its shield up and drew its sword. Kenny began to yell for it to stay back as the Deathscythe moved backwards. Suri smiled at the state that Kenny was under, but it started to go away as she continued to fire at the attacking Gouf, and miss.

The Gouf finally caught one of the random slashes that the Deathscythe tried to pull off, before it stabbed through the cockpit of the Deathscythe in one move. The Gundam fell silent, before falling away, into the ocean, a sword through its middle, leaving its beam scythe in the hands of the enemy.

It was over that quickly. Suri and TJ could hardly believe it had happened. The Deathscythe sank into the ocean, while the Gouf twirled the scythe in its hands. The beam had no problems from the power of the Gouf, and Peter slashed through two GINNs effortlessly.

--

"Geez Pete, when did you get so good with a scythe?" Wes asked in surprise.

"Not too sure...but, I have to say, I've never liked another weapon as much as I like this one."

"Let's stay focused now, there's still two Gundams left. And then we have the ones falling from the sky." Ikros said as he aimed his beam cannon at the two. Noticing their predicament, the two boosted up and began to gain some distance.

Wes noticed, keeping his beam rifle aimed towards them as he fired his beam cannons upwards at the oncoming GINNs. "Guess they'll be taking us a bit more seriously from now on..."

"Actually, it may have something to do with the fact that we have more company..." Trent stated without much enthusiasm.

"What now?" Peter exclaimed, boosting up onto a peak and looking over in a specific direction, South-West. He looked into his view screen surprised, "It looks like Earth Federation units are coming this way! They may have come from Carpenteria!"

"I see the Impulse heading this way." Trent stated, he looked up as the Zala Foundation enemies began to focus on their new enemies, firing down and coming into direct contact with them.

"Zak, this is Wes over?"

"...Wes, heard you needed a little help here."

"Not really, old man. We would have been fine." Wes said with a laugh. He listened to Zak's older, and hoarser of a laugh.

"Listen kid, Nina asked me to send this along to you. She wants you to head to Carpenteria as quickly as possible. She's got something for you; it might help out in the war, that and the squadrons of Blue Cosmos forces that are heading your way."

Wes sighed at the sound of this, before checking the direction. "Right, I'll head there right now. Peter, Trent, Ikros: Give Zak some back-up until I return."

"You'll be surprised, the Squire looks pretty nice."

"Thanks Zak, I'll be back before you know it." Wes said, transforming the Savior and boosting off South-West towards Carpenteria in Australia.

Zak and the other Earth Forces units began to do battle against the falling Zala Foundation, and even the Gundams could not change the fate of the battle.

--

"Goddamn it Suri!"

"I know TJ, I know..." Suri watched as the battle took an even larger turn for the worst. "This was supposed to be our invading victory..."

"I knew this plan would botch us in the end." TJ yelled as she fired on an incoming Dagger.

The two fought for the better part of an hour. Their reinforcements from the sky stopped coming, more than likely pulled out before it was too late to continue their campaign at all. Suri nodded, watching more of her soldiers fall, "Retreat is the only option now..." She whispered to herself as she punched in the necessary codes.

The sound went into each cockpit, and they split up into different directions. Some made it through the onslaught of, others did not.

--

Peter twirled his scythe around, catching a GINN off guard as it fired on him to keep the others covered.

The GINN exploded on contact, while Peter looked up to see most of them had retreated far enough away from him by then. The Gundams had gone off as well, leaving him alone for the moment. He checked the radar, looking for Trent and Ikros and immediately headed in their direction.

Peter noticed the Impulse fly towards him on his radar and opened the com, "Thanks a lot for the backup Zak, it's really appreciated."

"Don't thank me yet Peter, there's still something that needs to be taken care of."

Peter looked over at the Impulse, stopping as he asked, "What's that?"

His eyes began to widen as the Impulse sped up suddenly, boosting in its Sword form, and keeping both Excalibur blades out. "The destruction of each of your kind!"

Peter boosted to the side quickly, dodging the oncoming slice into the ground. "What the! Rayce, what are you doing!?"

"It's only the beginning Peter Geral. A better tomorrow, a blue planet." The Impulse connected both blades and lashed out at the Gouf, forcing it to boost back even more.

"Trent! Ikros! There's a problem!" Peter yelled out, scythe blocking against the attacks that Zak sent out. "It's Blue Cosmos! I can barely hold Zak back!"

The message did not go unnoticed by the other two as they boosted and transformed in order to reach Peter. Zak saw this on radar and shook his head, "Those two really won't get here in time. They'll have their own problems to contend with."

Peter barely blocked another attack that came at him, before Zak kicked the Gouf against the ground. The Impulse separated its blades, while the Gouf stood up with the scythe and boosted forward with an angry, and brave, Peter.

His war-cry was heard on all coms, as Zak took one Excalibur blade to block and move the scythe, before stabbing the Gouf through the chest with the other. There was silence, before the Gouf suddenly exploded.

Trent and Ikros saw this happened, but could do nothing but curse and swear. In their way, had been the three Extended pilots. The Black Zaku, the Red Windam and the Blue Strike.

--

Wes kept feeling the back of his neck slightly. He had a bad feeling, something may have gone wrong. But when the sight of smoke came into his vision, his eyes widened as the camera magnified on the source.

Carpenteria base was burning to the ground. The computer could find no sign of life amongst the burning ruins, or even the cause of the damage done. Wes opened a com, and started to call out, "Base this is Savior, come in!"

There was no response, "If there are any survivors, please respond to this frequency..."

Still no response, "Nina...come on! Somebody answer me!"

Wes felt his fingers twitch against his control stick. His camera then magnified and focused on the ruin of a mobile suit. He saw an insignia, just before it was burnt off, that of Blue Cosmos. Wes grit his teeth before realizing just where the Earth Force Units had come from. He pulled around, hitting his boost at a greater speed and force than normal and burst forward back towards the way he had just come from.

--

Ikros boosted away from Trent as Trent transformed back into its mobile suit form. Ikros collided with the Blue Strike, pulling out his axe while Trent crashed into the Red Windam.

Trent's momentum sent the Red Windam tumbling through the air with the Murasame gripped on tightly. His eyes were losing their focus as he continued to feel G-forces pound into his body. Still, he did not let go as they continued to tumble through the air.

"Come on now pups!" The old voice of Zak Rayce called out through the com, "These two are no match for you. No coordinator truly has any match for you Extended. Warec, my boy, show them what you are truly made of!"

Trent could barely get time to think before the Black Zaku suddenly tackled him off of the Windam. Trent tumbled through the air for a bit before he regained his control and landed on the ground barely.

He turned around, and ducked just in time for a sword to pass over his head. "Ah the promise of Orb. Tell me, did you know that there is no use for Orb?" Zak asked with a smile on his face as he continued to attack Trent with unrelenting strikes of his sword. "It's true you know, Orb is only destroying perfectly good Naturals by trying to protect you Coordinators. An abomination, you all are. Bringing down perfectly good people with you."

Trent seethed, lashing out with his beam saber. A red seed exploded within his mind, and Trent pulled up and away from another slash. Zak impaled his sword into the ground, while Trent landed near the remains of a GINN. He leaned down, picking up the Emeras Sword and twirled it in the left arm, dropping the shield beforehand. His right still held onto the beam saber.

Zak pulled out his sword and charged forward with both swords poised to strike. Trent caught the two with the beam saber and the Emeras, holding them against each other as he pushed back with a yell.

The Murasame kicked out towards the chest, forcing the Impulse back suddenly. While the Impulse ducked under a slash that Trent aimed towards its head, it used an Excalibur blade to slash through one of the legs.

Trent was forced to boost away, but not before cutting through one of the arms of the Impulse, with a quick slash. One Excalibur blade lay useless in front of the two and Trent panted at the actions it had taken. "Still even!" He said to himself.

"Even?" Zak asked with a laugh, "Of course not Trent. As a coordinator, things are never even. There's no such thing as equality for people like you." Trent looked up suddenly, seeing a transformation pack suddenly separate and attach itself to the Impulse.

It dropped its other sword, becoming attached with two cannons as the Blast Impulse. "Goodbye Trent, it was nice that you tried so hard..." Trent looked up to see two of the cannons aimed at him suddenly and grit his teeth as he charged forward in a last-ditch effort. The cannons fired, and the Murasame was sent sliding through the ground in one mangled piece.

Ikros saw it, and yelled out in rage. A green seed exploded over his eyes as he pulled both axes out of his shields and threw them in different directions. Several Buster Daggers were impaled and destroyed before one of the axes impaled itself upon the Blue Strike's shoulder.

Ikros boosted over to one of the Buster Strike's beam cannon, hanging onto it with his free hand as he aimed down at Zak and pulled the trigger. Zak did the same up at the Zaku.

The beams collided with each other, spreading the beams apart and doing damage to the surrounding area, and a few of the mobile suits as well. Even with one arm, the Impulse fired both cannons at full strength. But Ikros pushed his Zaku farther, and the beams broke through.

The Impulse lost a leg as Zak forced it to boost into the air, laughing the entire time. "Another coordinator that knows how to push the limits of his suits. How original. Truly, you must think that all Naturals have very little power over your machines."

Zak laughed as another transformation unit came over his machine, switching it into the Force Impulse. With more speed, Zak suddenly looped around towards Ikros and slashed through both of the beam cannons. They exploded, sending Ikros through the air before taking a few shots from the beam rifle.

The Zaku landed into the side of a mountain, a few miles away from where the Blue Strike had landed with an axe impaled on its shoulder. It was silent after the dust settled around the red Zaku, and Zak grinned at his obvious victory.

He prepared to order the rest of the troops to advance, attacking Orb and taking control of every location. But twin beam cannons stopped him. He turned around, just in time, for the other leg on the Impulse to be incinerated in the beam.

Zak continued to grin however, his eyes wide with excitement. "Wes! You made it!"

"Zak!" Wes yelled out, only pushing his Savior faster as it came closer to the Impulse. The sights before him angered him greatly. Trent's unmoving mangled mobile suit in the jungles, Ikros' Zaku missing both limbs, with several holes in the armor, and the remains of Peter's Gouf. Pieces were scattered along the coastline, but the head, and the scythe were easy to find, sticking into the sands.

Wes transformed the Savior, not touching the rear thrusters and felt his helmeted head impact against his console as he collided with the Impulse. His heartbeat strongly, "Zak! I'll kill you!"

"You would kill me for killing a few Coordinators? Wasn't it you who fought against them in the last two wars?" Zak said, an obvious tone of disappointment in his voice.

Wes felt even more angered as he pulled out both of his beam sabers, cutting through Zak's beam rifle, and then slashing through the arm. "The war is over!"

"And it has begun again! This time, we will finish it. Come now Wes, you're a Natural. You must join us in our fight! There is nothing left for you here now, I have wiped away these figments of the past to allow you into the future!"

Wes' mind paused, as if time seemed to slow for him. 'Why me...why me?' His mind turned to the happy faces of his allies, his friends. Trent's blushing face at the mention of either Coniel or Beka, always made Wes remember his innocent days. He found humanity in that one friend.

Ikros' discussions about coordinators, mobile suits and technical things always made him open up more about his ability's, his heritage. He would have told them the truth about himself, once this mission was over.

Peter reminded Wes about the war, and the hope that there was at the end of it. Peter was even more determined to stop the war, for the one he loved. He remembered the sight of Peter and Cassidy holding each other and smiling with delight at being in each other's presence. Wes' felt shame for failing his comrade; failing to bring him home to his loved one.

His mind fell on Nina. An innocent, a mere scientist in the midst of all this war. His eyes began to tear, and his jaws clenched tightly. "My future..." He whispered through his teeth, "Will see you at the end of my swords!"

He charged forward with both his beam sabers aimed forward, hoping to run him through. But he was stopped by cannon-fire, coming from the Black Zaku. Wes could no longer hold himself back as he charged forward, evident damage on his armor. Another shot was given, and Wes received it.

His eyes seemed to shine in anger, the adrenaline rushing through his bloodstream. He watched as a golden seed fell in front of his eyes. Time stopped as the seed paused in front of him, shaking and then exploding before his eyes. His hands fell over the controls, and his mind sharpened.

He moved quickly, dodging another few shots that were sent towards him. Warec's grin disappeared, his hopes of an easy victory dashed as he suddenly felt his mobile suit shake incredibly from the shock of being pummeled. Warec lost altitude, taking every single hit as it came from the Savior, and losing limbs and armor.

His Zaku took a direct hit from the beam cannons, sending Warec crashing into the ground.

"I see..." Said Zak after looking over the battle tactics and skills that Wes had just shown. Zak shook his head as replacement parts came, giving him a new pair of legs and a new arm. "Wes...I'm so sorry to see this."

Wes looked up at the Impulse, unshaken and unfazed by what he saw. The Impulse was back at full strength, with a circular part attacked to its back. The color of it changed to a darker color, the PS armor changed to a blood red, with grey outlining. The part on the back was black all together with eight pieces sticking out from it.

"I'm afraid that I must use my new abilities against you, and put you out of your misery Wes." Zak said as each of the nozzles on the new part aimed downwards, straight towards the Savior, while Zak gained altitude in the Impulse.

"I will destroy you Wes. With the power of my new Dragoon Impulse. Be proud." He fired, all eight beams heading straight down, with Wes dodging them completely. Wes transformed and moved upwards, transforming again as he reached Zak, ready to end the battle.

Wes' eyes widened as a beam suddenly shot over his head. He looked for the source, noticing seven other beams heading his way. The beams spun around him, like an intricate light show, burning and impacting against the Saviors armor. Wes could barely keep up before turning and deciding to finish things with Zak then and there. His two beam sabers were out, and he prepared for the final strike.

The Dragoon Impulse aimed and fired again. The first eight beams disappeared, and the next eight beams impacted against the Savior, with some going through. Those that went through, turned and impacted against the Savior, as the Dragoon Impulse continued to fire.

The red and black machine shook against the onslaught as the beam cannons were destroyed and the arms severed. The Savior began to fall down towards the ocean below, beams cutting through every now and then. The PS armor turned off suddenly, and the Savior exploded.

--

On the bridge of Yzak's ship were stares of shock. The destruction was immense, and the sight of the Savior exploding was enough to keep them in shock for some time after.

As the fleet came near the wreckages, a sob was heard just beside Yzak. He turned, seeing Cassidy hold a hand against her mouth as she tried to hold back tears. She had searched through the cameras, finding one that focused on what was left of the Gouf Ignition Peter had been piloting.

The image was switched off immediately, and Cassidy looked up to see Yzak standing with a serious expression on his face. "Your shift is over for today," He said quickly, moving back to his seat. He then looked over at Prine, who nodded and walked over to Cassidy, helping her stand and walk out of the Bridge.

Yzak held his head in his hands, watching as the Blue Cosmos units flew off, following after the Dragoon Impulse. They headed away from Orb, their plans to invade thwarted by the arrival of the fleet.

"So they really did succeed in their mission...but at what cost to themselves..." He placed his hands onto his knees as he waited for orders. For once, he did not have a clue as to what to do. What would be the right decision.

Four good men were dead-no, Missing in Action now. Yzak began to receive word from the Plants, ZAFT had seen the battle. The Submarine had had their emblem, even if it may not have been on their records.

Hours later, ZAFT, without the approval or support of the council still in Orb, declared war.

Minutes later, the Earth Federation followed suit.

The war, between Naturals and Coordinators, pulled at the strings by the dark fears from behind, began once again.

--

Ok! That took a bit of time and effort. I knew what I wanted to do with this chapter. But the inspiration and the time never came. Thankfully, I am now in summer vacation and I can actually stay focused on this. Please review, it makes me feel better and makes me happy to keep writing.

Seriously though, reviews are much appreciated and I really hope I get to see some even after all the time you had to wait for this chapter.

Hawk Strife


	17. Aftermath

I know, I'm bad. And I mean bad in a bad way, not the good way. Anyhow, I know it took a long time to get this chapter up, and I do apologize. I suppose I've been moving between stories but it looks like I'm able to start this one up again. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you enjoy this next chapter. Read well.

-----

The months that followed the appearance of the Dragoon Impulse Gundam held some of the fiercest fighting from the third war. Again, Zaft and the Earth Forces fought each other with great tenacity, and again blood was spilt along the ground, both military and civilian. Orb stayed neutral as it normally did, but at a greater difficulty with the people that they were taking care of.

The Zaft Council had not had a chance to return to the PLANT's and as such, they were stranded on Earth, without the ability to give the people of PLANT the guidance that they had promised when taking up office.

Along with that, were the forces of Zaft deemed traitors and deserters, those that had united with the Earth and Orb Fleet with hope for peace. Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman, Menla Yucker were one of the few Captains that could never return home on pain of death.

The Earth Forces gave the same decree to several of the Earth Ships, including that of Captain Jack Porter. Of course, all units that were decreed to be serving under the Captain was deemed a traitor as well, and forced to leave. The only squadron that was exempted of this, or at least given the chance at exemption, was "Last Hope" Squadron.

Even the Earth Forces were aware of the incredible power this squadron had, and gave them the chance to return to service without any charges on their record. A recorded message was sent to the team leader, giving him the choice. James sent back a recording of a pornographic film in response.

Orb became the new home for many different people who had nowhere else to turn. Cagalli was unwilling to turn them away, and likewise Athrun agreed. It was difficult keeping a serious and strong face under the pressure of so much sadness and mourning. After six months since the war began, no progress had been made on the location of the pilot's bodies. Their cockpits were empty, although they could have easily burnt up in the explosion as well. The hope that MIA would give them a chance to survive was lowering as time went on.

Chris Price stood on the shoulder of his Freedom Gundam, looking over the horizon as the sun began to rise. Since the war began, the time for giving a watchful eye to the others was upon them. At any time or opportunity, either the Earth Forces or Zaft would take a chance at trying to take over Orb and seize their technological capabilities. The rumors of the Archangel still being there never died down.

With binoculars in one hand, and rations in the other, he continued to search along the ocean surface and the horizon, hoping he would not see the signs of an attack. The radio on his shoulder began to crackle slightly as a message came through, "Base 1 to all Scouts and Outposts. Report in."

"North side, Tyler Jeris, all clear."

"Price here, Eastern side, nothing to report."

"Karus Shven, no worries in the South."

"Nara Kyzan, the West is fine."

Chris gave a sigh of relief for the umpteenth time that day. It was still not time for the attack apparently, even though he knew it would come eventually. Lacus ordered him to make sure they were well prepared in advanced, and he followed the orders well.

"Captain Rekos, how is your patrol?" Price asked through the com.

A quiet voice responded simply, "All clear…"

Chris sighed as he sat down again on the shoulder, looking towards the horizon without the binoculars. The image of his good friend Trent came to his mind, and he fought to hold back from punching the ground. He knew Rekos had taken it harder than he, and their mother as well.

Chris did not know what else he could do for all those mourning, but he doubted that he could do anything that would help greatly. He took a drink of water and looked through his binoculars once more. "Hey Rekos?"

"…Yeah?"

"They'll come you know…"

"Yeah…"

"What are you going to do…?"

Rekos did not answer for a while. Since Trent was gone, Rekos wondered if he could control the rage he felt against those responsible. Somehow, however, he found away to lose that anger and instead followed the orders needed to protect his homeland. Rekos still had control over his emotions and his responsibilities, unlike some of the other pilots.

"We…we should…" Nara spoke through the com, unsure of what to really say. Although she did not know Trent well, she remembered the small amount of time they had gotten to know each other. The Triple Threat Unit would not forget him soon, nor would they forget the rest of the group.

"I miss them…" Someone said suddenly.

Nara looked through her cockpit, seeing Tyler looking to the side, almost avoiding looking into the camera. "I miss their laughter, and the way they were on the battlefield…"

"Yeah…" Karus added, "Me too…"

Nara stayed silent, smiling lightly.

--

"O'brian..." said a quiet female voice from behind a computer. The person with the name woke up from his place at a table, a piece of paper stuck to his face from drooling.

Riley stayed silent although she did cock her head to the side a bit. The sight was strange enough, but the fact that her commanding officer looked as such disturbed her the most.

Tristan groggily felt the piece of paper on his face and pulled it off. He stood up and stretched his arms, giving out a large yawn. "Aw that was a good nap..."

"I thought we didn't have time for naps."

"I wasn't the one that said that Riley." Tristan said as he finished his stretches. He turned around looking over the room they had been given. Orders for them were to do even more research into the legendary mobile suits.

From what they were able to learn through Orb's extensive classified library, the five mobile suits were from a war that occurred hundreds of years before. Who created them and who they fought for was largely unknown. The idea that they existed contradicted the idea that Zaft had created the first mobile suits, and would mean that these five mobile suits were incredibly far ahead of their time.

During this time it had been considered that the technological level was similar to that of Tank Battalions and Infantry Platoons alone, although there may have been more. From what Riley and Tristan researched, the five first Gundams were created for a reason, in order to fight against an equal opponent, although who that was remained unknown.

"Well while I napped, did you find anything else Riley?"

"A date from a newspaper, giving me a shadowed picture of a possible gundam..."

"Which one?" Tristan said as he walked around and looked over her shoulder to try and see.

"Unknown, it doesn't match any of the Five Gundam figures." Riley replied stoically, continuing to type at a rapid pace before she brought up the picture herself. It had been front page news, and at the top was the date.

"November 17th, 198 AC?" Tristan said with a raised eyebrow. He sat down in front of another computer, writing through it and then nodding his head, "Ok...After the first colony was sent into space and inhabited. Right that makes sense, I recall us making a home in space early on."

"But the war ended that," Riley interrupted continuing through to a few years in the future, "This was the Nuclear war..."

"That explains that," Tristan said with a sigh, "after the Nuclear warheads exploded all over the globe, the world was force to live in space, and then were forced to come back to Earth when the colonies could no longer take care of all of the people without resources."

"Like pushing the reset button..." Riley whispered, before shaking her head and continuing her research through the database. "It explains why the historical records are so difficult to find on here..."

"The Nuclear explosions created EMP blasts that wiped and corrupted a lot of computer networks before they could be saved. Along with that, it wasn't that easy to save a newspaper during a nuclear explosion either..." Tristan sighed as he stood up, "Still, at least we have some kind of information on them."

"Tristan..."

"Yes?"

"I don't think we'll find very much...this might be a wasted effort..."

"Why do you say that?"

Riley pulled away from the computer, but stayed in her seat as she spoke, "Think about it, the best we were able to find was some kind of picture of a mobile suit that doesn't even match any of the five Gundams. We may never even find out what the suit in that picture really was...much less where the schematics on these five were found."

Tristan nodded his head sighing. He sat back down behind his table and then raised a finger, "What...were the colonies back then?"

A few taps on the keyboard gave her nothing, and she sighed, "It's probably on paper somewhere...is it important?"

"Nuclear warheads affect everything, but space." Tristan said simply and with a serious expression.

"You think..." Riley asked with widening eyes, "You think the schematics were on colonies?"

"It's possible."

"But the orbit would have sent many of the colonies through the atmosphere long ago."

"Nothing is perfect. This one is going to have to go to chance. What if by some fluke, a colony wasn't in orbit, or instead fell out of orbit and deeper into space...?"

"Far enough away from the Zaft Colonies?"

"It doesn't mean they never found it. But what if they never made it public, there was always a little animosity between Earth and Zaft..."

Riley remained silent at that, her eyes moving to the side in thought. She then stood up and briskly walked through a doorway, followed by a smiling Tristan.

--

"I'm bored..." Reallia said from her bed, her feet in the air as she laid on her stomach with a laptop in front of her.

"You'd think we'd be doing something by now, or being interrogated or something. We are former Earth Forces soldiers after all..." Kuzzy said with a sigh as he threw a baseball up, catching it as it fell.

"Former Earth Forces...I never expected to be calling myself that...retired sure, but former?" Hakros said with a light smile as he read a newspaper.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant Colonel," James said quickly, "I should have at least asked what each of you thought before answering...the way I did to the Earth Forces."

"I thought it was cute." Reallia said with a giggle, "I bet they never expected it."

"They wanted to give us double-promotions just to get us to come back to the Earth Forces." Meryl whispered and sighed, "They must have been both desperate and sure that we'd accept."

"Hmph, I would have made Lieutenant General...might have gotten myself a desk job." Hakros said with a smile before laughing slightly.

There was silence for a little bit, broken by Vash, "So...what are we going to do now?"

"Pilots without an army don't have many options Vash." James answered sorrowfully.

"We could always become mercenaries!" Reallia said with an excited look on her face as she stood up on her knees. "How exciting would that be!"

"Uh...I don't know, fighting for the highest bidder...doesn't sit too well with me..." Vash said, placing a hand on his stomach for some reason.

Meryl shook her head, "Why are you a soldier?"

"You know my mother asked me the same question"

"I know, she asked me too."

"Why would she want to know why you were a soldier?"

"She asked me why _you_ were a soldier moron!" Meryl responded and gave Vash a quick slap to the back of the head. Vash cringed as he clutched the back of his head, rubbing it gently.

"No need to be rough, besides, I'm sure we'll have something to do when Orb's forced into a corner." Hakros said closing his newspaper. He sighed as he said this, "Orb's always been forced to react before, this won't be any different. Now however, they have a larger number of trained soldiers, and a lot more to lose."

"The Zaft council...and the Zaft soldiers too...that must be a big burden to carry." Vash said sympathetically.

"Cagalli and Athrun can handle it I bet. And so can Lacus." James said with confidence, "From what Wes told me, they're quite a bunch of people."

"Wes could always tell just how great a person could be just by hanging out with them a little while." Reallia whispered with a smile, "It's all he needed to ask me to join...I wouldn't be here without...him..." She bit her lip as her eyes began to water. "Shit!" She whispered as she covered her face with her arm.

"We don't cry for the missing." James said with a stern face, watching as Reallia fought back tears that tried to surface.

"You sound like Wes everyday..." Hakros said with a smile, "Or maybe I should mean that you both sound like his father."

"Coming from you, that's a compliment." Vash said laughing as he smiled and leaned back.

"How is it, that a softy like you hasn't had the hardest time holding back tears?" Meryl asked suddenly from beside him.

"Simple really," Vash said smiling, "I just know."

"...Know? Know what? That doesn't even make sense."

"Ah but it does to me." Vash said and remained silent after, much to Meryl's anger.

--

Yzak and Dearka sat in a lounge, relaxing after patrolling the waters around Orb for a week. They would go on their next patrol eventually but they would take their time at least, resting. The two laid back with their collar unbuttoned and their hands each holding a cool can of beer. The television set was tuned to a new station, one focusing on the war and its progress.

"What a hassle…" Yzak said as he crushed the empty can in his hand, standing up and dropping it into the trash bin in the corner. He heard another can become crushed and then watched it bounced off the corner and drop into the wastebasket in front of him. He turned to Dearka, seeing his hand free of the beer can. Dearka's face was stoic and serious as he watched the news on the television screen. "Elsman," Yzak began, "you're a hassle as well."

"Is that your opinion as a soldier?" Dearka stated coldly as he pushed himself up onto his feet and looked over at Yzak. His eyes widened slightly as he watched Yzak grit his teeth and pull his arm back, tightening his hand into a fist.

Dearka fell back, landing on the ground with a stinging cheek. He spat out a bit of blood as he looked up at his friend. He would have stood up but Yzak beat him to it, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up to his feet. "It's my opinion as your friend! And as a coordinator! How long are you going to sit and mope around?" He shouted.

Dearka remained silent, his head turned to the side as he remained unable to say anything. With a quick movement from his hands, he shoved his comrade away from him suddenly and forcefully. "I know you too well Dearka!" Yzak shouted, letting Dearka go but standing tall after being pushed away, "You're not some coward, you're a soldier and a coordinator at that! What are you going to protect when you're stuck like this!?"

The two remained silent after this, with the television's news report being the only thing to break the silence. The door opened suddenly, creaking and the two turned towards the source of the interruption. Miriallia stood in her uniform, a straight face as she looked at the two white uniformed soldiers. "Well?" Yzak said, "Is there something you'd like to say?"

She stood straight as she spoke, "With respect, I'd like to speak with my Commanding Officer privately." She then waited for Yzak to respond, who gave a small scoff before nodding his head.

"Fine, I'll leave." He said as he buttoned his collar and walked towards the open doorway. He put a hand on Miriallia's shoulder before continuing out and down the hallway.

The door closed behind her as she stepped into the room. She could see the bruise on Dearka's face but chose to ignore it for now. She had something more important to focus on. She stood in front of him, looking up at him slightly before giving a quick salute, "I came with my answer."

"Good," Dearka said as he buttoned his collar again, "So I can get to work on those discharge papers right?"

"Please don't worry about it sir," Miriallia began, "I've already gotten all the papers signed and approved, I'll be under your command for the next four years." She said still saluting.

Dearka remained silent, his serious expression lost in his wide eyes and his slightly slack jaw. He shook his head slightly as he regained his composure, enough at least to ask, "What?"

"I decided to go directly to Councilor Elsman, and requested that he extend my service. If I may speak freely sir, my arm is beginning to cramp up."

Dearka's look was still covered in surprise as he nodded, "At ease…wait…you went over my head?"

Miriallia lowered her arm and nodded her head, "Yes I did. If you want to punish me for that, that's fine. I'd rather that than you pushing me away."

Dearka's eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth, "I'm just doing this so that you can stay safe. You didn't have a problem leaving last time!"

"And I left because you were doing the same thing." She said quickly, "you think I can't take care of myself. That you have to protect me." Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at him, she grabbed his collar tightly as she continued, "You were wrong to believe that."

"Then why the hell are you still here?" He whispered a little weakly. He looked at her as her features softened and her hands released themselves from his collar.

"I was wrong to leave without saying anything." She whispered and then closed her eyes as she tightened her cheeks slightly, "And I'd rather do the exact opposite of what you want me to do."

She heard him breath, but he said no words. For the next few seconds, it was so silent that the television set was drowned out. He then did something he had not done for some time. Miriallia opened her eyes in surprise as she watched her commanding officer for the next four years begin to chuckle. A chuckle that quickly evolved into full blown laughter, with mirth in his voice and tears in his eyes. He clutched his stomach as he landed on the sofa, laughing hard.

"You're such an idiot…" She whispered as she looked down at him, a smile on her features. She turned to face the television, still commenting on the war. The camera was focused on three new types of mobile suits, destroying both Earth Federation soldiers and Zaft.

--

"Well Mwu, how did it go?" Athrun asked sitting at a table with several other Captains and pilots, including Kira, Lacus and Cagalli. Mwu stood at the front of the table with a projection of a picture behind him. On it was the black and white picture of a battlefield from the sky.

Mwu nodded his head as he pointed towards the picture, "It seems as though Zaft has been able to take over a large amount of territory with their surprise attacks from above the atmosphere, the Earth Forces are barely holding them off in certain parts of Orbit and on the ground."

He switched the picture to a higher view, and pointed his finger along a line of long-range cannons and bases, "The Earth Forces have decided to focus on a slower expansion, stationing anti-mobile suit weaponry on their fronts as they push their own soldiers into the fray."

"They have the resources for it I suppose," Halk said, looking up from the report in his hands. "It won't work for long though, they'll stretch their supply lines too thin depending on how far they take this."

Mwu nodded his head gently and switched to the next picture, "It's not their only means for a strategy. They've already pushed themselves to the limit in South America, instead they've been fighting their fronts with guerilla tactics using Mobile suits and simultaneous operations."

"They have pilots that can do that?" Kira asked a bit surprised.

"With enough training yes, but furthermore, they still have their fair share of aces. They're not completely on the losing side." Mwu continued before going to the next picture, "Zaft is making progress with combat in extreme conditions such as desert combat in Africa, and arctic tactics in northern Russia."

Cagalli nodded in understanding before starting up, "But that's not the main reason for this meeting. Defending ourselves is easy, but we need to know when they'll decide to head this way."

"It's my professional opinion that…they will decide to invade soon." Mwu said sincerely, "The fighting isn't dying down, but they are reaching a stalemate, so they'll soon need something to tip the balance of power one way or another."

"It's the same thing every time isn't it…" Halk said with a scoff, "Orb stays neutral, hoping to keep its peace when in reality they should have gone to war when it started."

"Captain Tseoyok, you are out of line." Lacus stated with a small smile, "Orb is a safe haven for those who do not wish to take part in the fighting. The fact that those in power cannot respect this desire for peace is not the fault of Orb."

Halk remained silent, looking up at Lacus before looking back down at his report, giving a slight nod. "Yes ma'am, but we can't be expected to protect Orb, we have our own worries."

"Orb was kind enough to protect the council and all Zaft soldiers considered deserters, including yourself Captain Tseoyok." Lacus continued.

"Yes ma'am…I just don't want to wear Orb colors when they get here…"

"Oh, well if that's all your worried about," Lacus began smiling widely as she put her hands together in thought, "I'm sure that Cagalli and I can think of something that will be more appropriate for you."

Athrun gave a light cough as he tried to keep a smirk from appearing on his face, while Kira snickered lightly in the background. Halk placed an elbow on the table, and his head in his hand as he looked away, deciding that although he could find more reasons to hate most of these people, he would probably never win an argument. Especially when Lacus was involved.

--

"Hikari! What's the status of the armor?" Yoshi yelled out from the shoulder of a Zaku. He looked down to search for his twin sister, noticing her huddled over a table with some blueprints on top, a pencil in her hands, and a pair of earphones in her ear. He swore lightly under his breath as he hopped off the shoulder and onto the catwalk that was next to it. He then quickly walked down the stairs with a light step and jogged over to her once he was on the solid ground.

Her head bobbed slightly to the beat of the music in her ear as she wrote line upon line, writing small notes along the margin. Yoshi shook his head as he pulled out one of the earpieces gently, "Hey Hikari, remember I asked you about that armor?" Yoshi would have continued but Hikari had already returned the earpiece to where it had been and continued her work silently.

Yoshi grit his teeth slightly and then let out a forced smile. He reached over to her music player and unplugged it from the earphones, holding it in his hands. For a moment, Hikari continued to do what she was doing unfazed. She then stopped suddenly and reached around for the music player, finding only the end of the earpiece at its previous location. She swore as she turned to her brother and watched him wave with what she was looking for in his metal hand.

She held her hand out silently and he shook his head with a serious look on his face. Hikari sighed as she slowly pulled the earphones out of her ear and exclaimed, "What Yoshi?"

"The armor?"

"I'm working on it, can't you see that?"

"How's it coming Sis? I need to know when it can be implemented, not done in blueprint format."

"I just thought of it a few days ago!" Hikari shouted with her hands on her hips.

"And we'll need it soon, if that Impulse attacks now using the Dragoon system, all of us save for maybe Kira and the Commander-in-Chief will be wiped out." Yoshi said as he crossed his arms. His sister's eyebrow twitched as she watched his metal hand tighten slightly over her mp3 player.

She grit her teeth as she looked away from his hands for a few moments, "I'm working as fast as I can. I'm almost finished with the blueprints, and then I need to test the reflective armor out before we can even use it. That could take weeks!"

"Then I suggest you make enough to cover my mobile suit. Then we'll have a perfectly good test subject, we can even use battle data." Yoshi said simply as he placed the music player on the table and stepped away from her.

She looked at her brother with narrowed eyes, "That's dangerous! What if it doesn't work?" She said but watched him continue to walk away from her unfazed by her words. She then half-yelled, "Damnit! This is completely unethical! I won't take any part in this! What if you die?"

Yoshi stopped and shrugged his shoulders slightly before turning towards her, "That's a risk we'll need to take. We need something that'll keep us alive while we're fighting that monstrosity, and any others that might be created. We don't have time to be afraid of a test."

Hikari stayed silent as Yoshi turned around and walked away once more, deciding to get back to work. A few sounds behind him made him raise an eyebrow and turn around just in time to see her throw something at him. It hit him square in the face and hit the ground, shattering to pieces. He looked up at her to say something as he held his forehead gently before she yelled out, "You owe me a new mp3 player! Don't you forget it asshole!"

--

Night had fallen over Orb, and the lounge did not have the light on. The darkness was where some found peace as they waited for time to pass them by. Coniel was one of these people, sitting on the couch with a stern face and a number of confused thoughts passing through her head.

She held her hands against each other in the darkness, an improvement compared to the tense rubbing and wringing she had done a few months before. Since the disappearance of Trent and the others, she had found it difficult to sleep well. As she closed her eyes to try and rest, the images of the last day she saw him came to her. Her dreams were filled with him when she finally passed out into a fitful sleep. She dreamt of his eyes, his smile and his touch and would wake up with tears in her eyes.

With this in mind, she fought off sleep as best she could. She looked for ways to take her mind off of the pain of wondering what had happened to Trent and her friends. They were not her only problems however.

She had already heard word that her village had been taken over. Zaft had it under their control, but she knew not what had become of the people in the village. All the while, she was forced to remain in Orb.

She gave a small sigh as she put her face into her hand, rubbing her cheeks gently. She looked up slowly at the sound of footsteps, and felt her heart jump as the door opened suddenly and the light turned on.

Coniel cringed and closed her eyes, trying to force herself to open them a bit, trying to get used to the light again. She looked at the person who had interrupted her moment of temporary peace, but found the light to still be much to bright for the moment.

"Coniel?" said a female voice that she recognized.

Coniel nodded her head gently, finally getting a general shape of the person. "Cassidy…" she said calmly, "you should have warned me you were going to turn on the light."

"Sorry, I'm still used to finding this place empty." Cassidy said smiling lightly as she sat down next to her friend.

"You're still mourning I see…"

"I…can't really help it." She said with a forced smile.

"They…didn't find his body either you know."

"Don't patronize me…please…" Cassidy answered, "You saw the state of the Gouf. The state of all the other mobile suits…I can't…" She held her breath, cutting off her own words. She felt tears burn her eyes as she let out her breath slowly and shakily.

--

It was still night time in Orb, but one of the hallways in the base was anything but silent. A female voice yelled out, slurred by alcohol as she stepped with an uncertain footing, one hand pushed against a wall to keep her on her feet.

"Hello…?" She let out slowly as she kept her head low, squinting in the darkness. "There must be someone out there, who can honestly sleep at a time like this?" She spoke to the darkness, her tone becoming a bit harsh.

She bit her lip as the hand on the wall turned into a fist. She then punched the wall with a light yell as she continued to move along the wall. She let out a small sigh, "Well I suppose it's not your fault. But you could help an officer reach her bed couldn't you!" She yelled down the hallway with a bit of annoyance. She had raised her other fist and shook it at the darkness, but it was enough to make her overcompensate her balance. She lost a grip with the wall and felt herself hit the ground on her backside.

She seemed stunned for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape as she leaned against the wall. She gave a slightly smile as she began to giggle lightly. It turned into full blown laughter as she put a hand to her face and fought back tears. She found both of her hands on her face as she found herself unable to hold back her tears. She failed to notice the footsteps that echoed towards her, or the man that stood in front of her.

"Captain?"

Menla Yucker finally looked up from where she was sitting, getting a good view of his subordinate, Jaken. She gave a smile as she sluggishly grabbed onto the wall to push herself up. Jaken found her to be making no progress whatsoever as he kneeled down and placed his arms around her waist, helping her stand on her feet.

"Ah the wonderful Jaken Grayson," She whispered as she circled her arms around his waist. He blushed as he started to walk down the hallway towards where he knew the Captain's room was. "Such a strong and silent type, how is it that you're still a sergeant after all these years?"

Jaken blinked his eyes as he looked down at her, "I'm a Commander…Captain are you-?" He began only to pull back at the smell of alcohol coming off of her breath. He coughed slightly as he nodded, "Never mind, question answered."

"So then, Mr. Commander, where do you think you're taking your Captain?" Menla said with a giggle, a sound Jaken had never really heard before from her mouth. "I hope it isn't anywhere too obscene."

"Captain, I'm taking you to your room. You should probably sleep this off." Jaken said with another blush coming onto his face. He never imagined that she would be like this. Jaken had known the Captain since the day he became a pilot, and she was always stood tall and strong amongst her comrades. It was the main reason he started to fall for her, and the reason why he wanted to be her subordinate.

"That sounds so boring!" Menla whined as she leaned against her subordinate. "Come on, there must be something more we can do. Something more we can drink."

"Captain, I'll keep you away from another drop of alcohol at gunpoint if I have to."

"Ha ha, so funny." Menla said with a pout that then turned into a grin, "You were always the funny one, makes me feel less regret for promoting you."

"Less regret?" Jaken said a little louder than he intended and cringed as it echoed in the hall. He looked back to his Captain to see her laughing hard. She released his arm and fell to the floor as she continued to laugh, and Jaken sighed as he sat down next to her.

"Just joking…" She said with a light smile, but that wasn't what caught Jaken's attention. Instead he looked at her eyes, watered and streaming down her cheeks slowly. She noticed his stares and quickly began to wipe them away with the sleeve of her uniform.

She turned away from him, quickly standing up. She nearly lost her balance but leaned against the wall to keep standing as she continued to feel tears fall down her face. Jaken stood up behind her, unsure of what to do, or what was acceptable in this situation. He thought he heard her say something, "What?" He asked.

"It's my fault…" She whispered, "He would have never been in this situation if it wasn't for me!" She half-yelled into the wall. She sniffled loudly as she continually tried to wipe away the tears from her face. Jaken was left slightly confused.

"Him…?" He whispered to himself and then suggested a name, "Do you mean…Ikros?"

She paused, breathing deeply and trying to calm herself down. "What kind of sister am I?" She whispered, "I wanted to get my brother into a mobile suit. Oh god! Why did I do that!?" She yelled and grabbed her head tightly, sinking to her knees with her head against the wall.

Jaken gulped silently before kneeling down next to her and resting a hand against her shoulder gently. He squeezed her shoulder and watched as she rested one of her hands on his own. "I'm sure he never blamed you, nor would he ever blame you for this."

She shook her head as he said this, leaning into him absentmindedly. "I deserve to be blamed for this. I should have been the only one taking part in the war, I should have risked my life alone, not that of my own family. I should have been trying to protect him."

"I'm sure he felt the same way about you, needing to protect you." He said with a light smile.

"I wish he was here."

"I know Captain…" He whispered in return, moving a hand around her shoulders and holding her close, "I know."

"Commander?"

"Yes Captain?"

"…Jaken…"

"…Yes Menla?" He watched as she looked up at him, eyeing him through watery eyes.

"Stay with me tonight…"

--

"Officer on deck!" yelled out a soldier in a dark hangar, several hundred feet below the surface. The lights were dimmed, making it impossible to detect with conventional technology. Several soldiers stood at attention, along with a few mechanics but quickly went about their business when dismissed.

Another soldier quickly ran up to her and gave her a quick salute, "Captain Ramius, we didn't expect to see you today." He said a bit out of breath but still maintaining his tall and straight back.

She nodded her head, taking off her hat, "I got my son to go to bed early, so I thought I would see how the preparations are coming."

"Since we've been using low energy machinery, progress has been slow in repairing and maintaining the ship, but she'll be ready if the time comes. We've had to double our efforts recently."

"She looks good," Ramius said with a smile as she looked up. "I'm sure your men have worked hard at keeping her up to speed."

"It's been our mission since we've been down here, we won't give up on it yet."

"Good," Ramius said as she replaced her hat, "I want the Archangel ready if the time comes for battle in Orb. Please make sure that she is well armed and ready for battle before we get caught off guard."

"Yes Captain!"

:- 6 months ago -:

On the coast of an island among the Equatorial Union, miles away from Orb. There is a tired body on the sand breathing slowly and shallowly. Dry blood patches are on the side of his face. His pilot's uniform is wet, soaked from the ocean and the waves that push up against him every so often.

It is dark, but the light of the moon is still able to reflect off of his golden hair effortlessly. And with a cough, the man opens his eyes.

-----

So I know it's not much (And I'm pretty sure it doesn't hold very many surprises) but it's a necessary chapter (At least it is in my opinion). The next chapter will be focused on either Wes, Ikros or Trent. I'm not sure which, so I'll ask if anyone would prefer one of the three. It'll be a slight arc on that character before I move to the next one and so on. I'll be able to decide on my own, but I just wondered if anyone else would like something specifically.

Good day to you all, please review as I know I need the critiques.

-Hawk Strife


	18. Dark Cell

Hey there, I actually got a pretty good update and I'm on time for sure. Whoohoo! Well considering that I've actually got a few financial issues right now, I wouldn't be hoping for the best in the future, however I will promise that I will try my best. I'm having a good time with this story again, and making progress is good for my soul.

READ AND REVIEW (Please note I am not yelling at you, but capital letters stick out more and attention is always good. Review help me to get better in my writing and as such, I am serious, when I say that I support both good and bad reviews and don't care if you're a writer or just a reader. Please keep this in consideration as you read, thanks!)

--

Freedom is a right many people lose. Sometimes they lose it for good reason and sometimes they lose it during a time of war. No one has the right to preach they judge correctly everyday, but no man or woman is completely innocent either. But when there is war, the lines between innocent and guilty are rarely drawn at all. Enemy and friend are sometimes the only titles that matter in times of war, but the same distinction can be said between Natural and Coordinator.

Deep in a dark cell, this line has been drawn. Although he inwardly smiled at walking away from the wreck of a mobile suit he once piloted, as he looked down at his hands he remembered the position and the location he sat in. No smile graced his features as he looked down at the handcuffs that kept his hands tightly together. He would look up from them, but only found bars to keep him in. There was no window, but the lights in the hallway next to the bars shined brightly, at least during the day. Lights out came early, just after the armed guards in blue uniforms passed him a tray of flavorless food.

But the sun had already risen in the day, and the prisoner waited for another part of his regular routine. When the girl with blue hair reappeared before him with an armed escort at her side, the prisoner stood up silently and stood at the wall, farthest away from the doorway. The blue haired girl with pale skin unlocked the door to the cell and opened it stepping back and allowing the prisoner to walk forward. She did not remove his cuffs, nor did she speak. With a simple turn of her heel, she began to walk down the white hallway and had the prisoner follow down the light with the armed escort right behind him.

Ikros walked down the hallway in his red pilot's uniform and with a stubble along his chin. The uniform he wore showed a dull red color now from dust and wear. He remained silent as he followed his captor down a familiar path. Ikros kept his eyes on the solid white ground as they walked, ignoring the shine that everything seemed to give off thanks to the lights overhead. They passed a few closed doors before they passed a window looking into a room, and entered the room itself through a doorway. The escort entered into the room with them, pushing Ikros down into his seat. There were chains connected to several parts of the metal chair. A large clip was attached to the chains and the escort pulled it up, attaching it to Ikros' handcuffs.

With this, Ikros still had no use of his hands, and could not escape while dragging a heavy metal chair along with him. The escort then gave the girl with blue hair a quick salute and walked out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. Ikros looked over to the window, finding that he could only look at his own reflection in the mirror side of the glass. He sighed as he turned back to the girl, who even he admitted looked much nicer than his current reflection in the mirror. The girl sat down in the chain-free chair across the table from him. Her expression remained serious as she pursed her lips and placed her elbows on the table.

"How many days does this make it?" She asked in an even tone as she watched her prisoner stare back with the same expression on his face. Ikros remained silent as he leaned back against his chair, trying to make himself comfortable in the face of his newest challenge. She seemed unfazed by his response as she continued in the same monotone, "If my math is right, you've already been here for two months."

She paused to watch his reaction, if he would give any. He fought back any surprise he had felt, enough to keep his face straight and unfazed but his mind still looked over the prospect. He did not think he had been a prisoner for two months, it felt too short for the monotony he had been going through. She continued to speak after a few seconds; "I suppose it must be hard to keep dates straight when you haven't really seen the sun ever since you've been here." She said with no sense of sympathy in her tone of voice as she continued to stare into him, "Still you were in the hospital for a few of those days. But still, it's longer than any coordinator has been allowed to live while our prisoner."

Ikros fought back the urge to groan, he had yet to give this woman any information, and he did not feel the need to do so still. She placed her hands along the table's cold and smooth surface, "They seem to think you don't know anything of importance. But I know better." She said as she stood up and walked around the table, sliding her hand along the side. "Command also seems to think that they should just execute you and be done with it. Would you like to know why they haven't done so yet?"

She asked Ikros in such a serious tone that he wondered if she truly had an important reason. He looked up at her from where he sat, waiting silently and patiently for her answer. She leaned against the table with her outstretched hand, "Because of me. Because I want to know what's in your head enough to say you're worth keeping alive." She said with a light smirk before turning around and walking back to her seat.

"You sure that's the only reason?" She heard behind her. She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder with cold eyes. Ikros shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, you must be keeping me alive for something more than just a hunch."

She stalked back towards him, and reached down to his collar. Her hands tightened around his uniform and pulled him up to stare into his face. "You've been quiet for two months, so much its like you took a vow of silence. And the first words you break it with is that?" She said through clenched teeth.

Ikros shrugged his shoulders slightly, the smirk still on his face, "Well I'm just surprised you couldn't think of a better excuse or lie, you had so many other options-" he paused as he felt her fingers tighten even more against his collar. He felt the cloth of his uniform begin to constrict around his neck as he looked up to see that her demeanor had changed.

Her eyes seemed unemotional, but when Ikros looked deeper he noticed a glare in her pupils. Her lips began to pale from her pushing them together so tightly and her quiet breath began to speed up. He figured her heart had begun to beat just as rapidly but did not venture anymore than a guess. He tried to pull away from her grip, but she had more strength. She then leaned in close and whispered in a tone that brought a light chill up Ikros' spine, "I'm sorry, I don't think I understood you correctly. What are you trying to call me?"

He held his breath for a moment, looking at her fierce eyes before shaking his head, "I-I wasn't calling you anything. I was just thinking about another reason you might have for letting me live," He said. He tried to hide the fear in his voice, hoping that she would release him soon. He tried to move his arms slightly but found it to be useless as the chain attached to his cuffs kept his hands down, and his posture uncomfortable.

She let out a breath and released him quickly. She turned around and walked back towards her chair as he fell to the seat, reaching up to loosen his collar somewhat. Ikros gave a light cough as she sat down across from him. He noticed her face had returned to the normal unemotional mask it usually donned. She leaned back against her chair, "I think this calls for a celebration. You've finally started to speak…" She began and then smiled lightly, "As a gift to you, I promise to stop holding back. I'm sure you'll learn to appreciate this…"

Ikros listened as the door clicked from the lock being taken off and then opened. He turned his head slightly to watch as two soldiers walked in, one carrying a car battery and another carrying a pair of wires. Ikros grit his teeth slightly as he turned back to watch the girl.

--

Ikros began to wake up disoriented and in motion. He felt his arms being grabbed onto and carried, while his feet dragged along the smooth metal floor. He blinked his eyes as he tried to get them to focus, but found it difficult to see through the haze in them. He tried to think back as to the reason but found no time to do so as he suddenly felt himself stop and be lowered onto the floor on his back.

He listened as the boots of the soldiers walked away from his breathing body. After he heard the gate close, Ikros moved his arm, his hands still cuffed, as he tried to right himself and sit up. He hissed and groaned as he felt pain begin to coarse through his muscles, and he realized that most of his body felt sore. He remembered quickly, the pain of electricity coursing through his body.

She had said that she did not want to leave any physical marks on him just yet, but Ikros found it hard to believe that he had no marks on him with the pain he felt. He groaned as he tried to push himself up again. With his elbows, he pushed himself along the floor towards his bed and then grit his teeth as he reached up and grabbed onto the edge of the metal platform that stuck out of the wall.

With a light groan, he pulled himself up onto it and panted as he rested, rolling onto his back and letting his head down against the cool surface of the platform. He breathed in deeply and slowly to try and pull his mind away from his sore body. The frown on his forehead slowly relaxed and as he fell asleep, he felt at ease for a little while at least. Without meaning to, his mind fell to dreams and his dreams focused on a memory, a recent and traumatic one.

--

_The fall had shaken him severely, but what seemed to affect him more came from the image of Trent's Murasame imprinted into his mind. Ikros never thought to call through the comlink to see if Trent had survived because of his anger, and now the Zaku could barely lift a finger. Ikros sighed as he realized he felt similarly, reaching up and feeling along the console above him, searching._

_His fingers came across a glass casing and he ventured to open his eyes enough to see the yellow and black taping around the fiberglass. While he grit his teeth, he punched the glass roughly and pulled on the red handle. Ikros felt a slight jolt and watched as the cockpit door in front of him suddenly blew open forcefully. He sighed in slight pain as he unbuckled the straps holding him to his chair and then placed his hand on another fiberglass casing. He punched it and pressed the red button beneath it, watching as a small console with numbered buttons appeared. _

_With a heavy hand, Ikros pressed his fingers against a series of numbers slowly and then pushed the accept key. It gave a warning and the lights, those that still worked, began to glow red. Ikros nodded as he pushed accept key once more, finding that he could not hear if the automated voice spoke. After that, a timer appeared in red coloring and he grit his teeth as he pushed himself up onto his feet, and out of the cockpit._

_He sighed and then hissed as he clutched his stomach lightly, moving to climb down the leg of his mangled mobile suit as quickly as possible. He counted the timer in his head, hoping that the countdown looked slower in reality than in his head. Ikros swore at himself for multi-tasking when he suddenly felt his foot slip down the smooth armor of one of the legs. It sent him sliding off and into the air for a small while, before he landed on his back roughly in a pile of bushes._

_He groaned, slowly pushing himself up onto his feet again to start jogging away from the main body of the mobile suit. He cringed as he placed hand to his stomach again, a slight pain within but he knew he did not feel any blood. Possibly internal bleeding, he could not tell for sure. He gave up trying to remember what the timer must have come down to as he broke into a faster run, finally making some slight distance with the unmoving mobile suit. _

_A sudden shake came behind him, followed by what seemed like the muffled sound of an explosion. Ikros did not realize what happened until he felt a force push him forward at a pace he could not control, forcing him to hit the ground roughly. He groaned, finally beginning to realize that he had not completely lost his sense of hearing as he slid across the ground lightly. A forceful wind blew against the trees around him as he continued to crawl forward, away from the hopefully destroyed remains of his mobile suit. _

_He took a light glimpse back, only to find that many of the explosives that had been set inside the mobile suit for situations such as these had not gone off. The legs were totaled, but that did not matter compared to the solid state of the cockpit. Nothing seemed damage, and he considered running back to personally finish the job. The chance that the explosives would detonate eventually on its own time stuck out as a great risk to himself as he shook his head and continued on his way, pushing himself back up to his feet and speeding up his pace._

_He felt his speed increase as the ground sloped downwards. He did not know where the direction would lead him, but he focused on reaching a beach. That option seemed best for being rescued quickly. He could barely hear anything, but believed he heard the muffled sounds of explosions. He refused to look up, not wanting to see any more destruction around him. As he focused on looking away from above, he quickly realized he needed to pay more attention to where he went._

_He crashed into something hard and metallic. He landed on his rear hissing in pain as he clutched his shoulder gingerly. He grunted as he stood up again and looked at the cause of his misfortune. He felt his heart sink as he looked at the familiar blue metal plating that surrounded the mobile suit he had fought only moments before, the Blue Strike Gundam. _

_With a start, Ikros jumped behind a tree and looked around the side to see if the mobile suit had perhaps noticed his presence somehow. But he saw no movements, no slight twitches. He sighed lightly as he looked towards the cockpit of the mobile suit, seeing the cockpit door wide-open. With a light grin, Ikros ran forward and grabbed onto the leg, pushing himself up and running up the leg towards the cockpit near the waist. _

_He slowed down as he neared the open cockpit and leaned his back against the armor as he moved side-ways, sliding towards the opening. He pulled out his pistol, and with a quick run, turned around the corner aiming towards the seat. He knew that with the door open, it was unlikely to find anyone inside of it. He did not expect to be wrong. _

_He saw a girl inside, unconscious but breathing. 'This is the pilot?' he thought to himself, 'This is the person I've been fighting?' He kept his gun trained on the breathing body but moved over to her slowly, checking to see if she had any wounds with his eyes. He removed the glove on his left hand with his teeth and reached out to place his fingers against her smooth neck, finding a pulse and sighing in relief. _

_He paused as he returned his glove to his hand, 'Why am I relieved? I should be hoping that she was dead…' He thought as he kept his gun trained to her, then tightened his hand on the trigger finger. He trained it on her forehead, 'With her gone, this will make my life and the lives of others much easier…' He lifted a finger to cock the trigger back, and moved another finger to pull the trigger._

--

He woke up with a start when he heard pounding against the bars of his cell. He placed a hand to his forehead as he groaned and pushed himself to sit up, looking over to see who made so much noise but only seeing darkness. He looked up to confirm that no one had turned the lights on, and that the sun had yet to come up.

"Finally awake are you coordinator?" Ikros heard from the darkness and stood up, gritting his teeth lightly at the soreness he still felt in his body. He listened as the cell to his door unlocked and then creaked open slowly; "Now then, I've got a gun aimed at you, so don't try anything funny."

Ikros could tell that he had not met this person yet as he followed orders slowly with his cuffed hands remaining in front of him, "I don't know you, isn't the girl supposed to be my interrogator?"

Ikros listened as the person pushed him forward with his pistol and laugh slightly, "Let's just say I don't think she's quite up to the task like I am. But you'll see her after I'm done doing the job they gave her."

Ikros fought back a groan as he felt the gun continue to prod against his back, leading him down the hallway. He followed the directions of his new interrogator, wishing he could see a little better in this darkness. He finally felt a tug on the back of his collar, and listened as a door opened up behind him. He did not have time to think on a reaction as he felt the same hand shove him through the doorway forcefully.

He groaned, still in pain from the session the night before. He then heard the door shut and felt a hand grab his collar forcefully, dragging him towards a chair and releasing him just next to it. Ikros hit the ground on his shoulder loudly before reaching around for the chair. Meanwhile, he listened as his new captor moved around slightly before speaking, "Now then, what is your name and rank?"

The person asked the question before Ikros could even sit down in the chair. Ikros sighed as he spoke, finally finding and moving to sit down in the chair, "Isn't is common courtesy to say your name before asking for someone else's?"

He did not hear any movement from the other side of the table, but he knew what he felt. He felt a hit on his right cheek, sending him off of the chair and onto the floor. His cheek stung slightly and his tongue came across a coppery taste. He spit out what blood he had in his mouth before moving slowly to stand up again. He listened as his captor chuckled lightly, "Although human's have the right of common courtesy, you are not human, and thus don't deserve common courtesy. Now, what is your name and rank?"

Ikros coughed a bit as he stood up, wondering if this person had actually punched him or if another person stood in the shadows. Ikros did not care as he answered, "Athrun Zala, Commander-in-chief of Orb." He waited and felt another punch hit him from the left side this time. He hit the chair first and then fell to the ground, but grit his teeth as he stood up once more.

"I doubt that Athrun Zala could ever be captured, he fights remarkably well for a coordinator." Said the voice in the shadows, but Ikros felt no intimidation from him as he shrugged his shoulders in response, knowing that he probably could not see this. The voice spoke again, a little more forcefully, "As commendable as you might think you are, it's not going to work. You will tell me what I want to know, eventually. What is your name and rank?"

"Kira Yamato-" He could not get the chance to finish the sentence as something roughly hit him in the gut while he tried to get up off of the ground. He coughed as he tried to breath in again.

"What is your name and rank?"

Ikros stayed silent for a bit, breathing in and out finally. He started to realize that this person would not work the same way that the girl did. "I have no name or rank that I will give to you." He spat out finally and waited on the ground as no one made a move. He heard a light clap from the darkness and a bit more laughter.

"Those are brave words, and you should be commended. However, instead I think you'll understand when I give you this instead." He heard the snap of a finger and then felt as two large hands grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. One of the hands released him and he clenched his teeth for the impending hit he knew would come.

--

_The sound and warmth of a crackling fire calmed Rena's heart while the light coming off of it forced her to blink her eyes. She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart and knowing she still lived, before realizing that a fire would never happen inside of a mobile suit, at least it would not last long before the impending explosion._

_She sat up quickly and suddenly found came to several conclusions. She had just gotten up from the ground, which meant that she now stood outside of her mobile suit. Her body felt sore but she could feel a few bandages around her waist and her arm, which meant that someone had rescued her and treated her wounds. Her head suddenly began to spin, forcing her to her knees as she placed a hand on her head. She came to another conclusion then, she still had her wounds. _

_She sat down completely, a hand still on her face when she heard, "Stand up too fast after a fall like that, you're bound to be feeling a few effects." She turned towards the source quickly; standing up again and immediately regretted it. The spinning became too much as she fell to the side and landed on her hands. She coughed hard and then felt her stomach feel the same effects from the spin, throwing out what lunch she had had before the mission. _

_She felt disgusted with herself, but remained silent as she panted deeply, trying to regain control of her head. She felt a hand on her back, rubbing her lightly and with the pace of the movements she watched as her eyes stopped trying to follow the spinning trees. She let out a sigh of relief as she sat up, wiping off what puke she had on her lips, and then spitting out what remained in her mouth to the ground. _

_She turned around, looking to look and thank her rescuer. She froze the minute she saw him, or rather she froze when she noticed his uniform, it's color and the insignia it wore on its breast. She stifled her breathing somewhat as she looked up at the face of her coordinator savior, controlling her outward emotions while she felt depressed and fearful inside. She did not expect the light smile that was on his face, nor did she expect him to hand her a piece of fruit. She absentmindedly grabbed it, not sure what else she could do in the situation. _

"_You look better, at least you're not as pale as you were before." He said with a light shrug as he sat down next to the fire, moving his hands over it. She looked up to see that the sun had set sometime ago and the stars shined brightly against the deep dark blue abyss. She then turned her eyes back towards him, shaking her head as if to get rid of her moment of weakness. She needed to keep her eyes trained on him; they did stand on different sides of a war after all. Those thoughts then made her wonder, 'Why did he save me? And who is he?'_

_She knew she had fallen some time before, and the one who defeated her flew the Red Zaku with a skill that she had not seen him do on anything but a video screen. It had caught her off guard and sent her careening into the island from the force of a simple axe. Rena sighed as she brought her mind back to where she sat, hoping that she would not lose focus anymore._

"_The foods not poisonous you know. Besides, it'd be a waste for me to save you and then kill you right after, right?" He said with her back towards her, bringing her eyes and attention back to the fruit in her hand. She wondered if she could stomach it after emptying her stomach so soon. "It can get rid of any aftertaste you might have right now anyways." She heard him continue, which made her nod and bite into the fruit in her hand slowly._

_She smiled lightly, it was a good flavor and she nearly forgot about the fact she had thrown up only moments before. She bit into it again quickly, messily biting into the soft and juicy morsel. She had nectar on her cheek and chin, but she did not care as she continued to eat. She failed to notice that the young Zaft man no longer had his attention on the fire but on her instead. _

_She only caught it, as she looked at him in a passing glance. She then berated herself mentally as she looked at him, again trying to keep her focus steady. "Lost a bit of blood too, I think the fruit will help you with that, at least until you reach a hospital." He said to her, to which she nodded shortly, keeping her eyes on him as she ate silently and at a slower pace. _

"_You didn't actually do too badly, compared to me anyways." He said as he rubbed his side gently and then went back to warming his hands. He then turned his face back to the fire as well, "Considering you fell from such a distance, I expected you to be in much worse shape."_

"_How…" she began, clearing her throat as she cracked her voice slightly. She breathed in and spoke again, "How do you know that?"_

"_Know what?"_

"_How far I fell?"_

"_Oh, that." He said simply and placed his arms behind him. He leaned against his arms slightly as he spoke, "I was the one that caused you to go down."_

_She felt the fruit in her hands, what remained of it; slip out of her fingers and onto the ground. Rena blinked her eyes gently before pushing herself back onto her feet slowly and stepping around the fire, moving away from him. "You…you're the Zaku?"_

"_Well I'm it's pilot." He said simply, "I'm a little small to be a mobile suit." He gave a light laugh as he looked over at her, noticing that she stood on her feet and looked ready to run away at a moments notice. He raised a hand slowly and calmly, "You know your wounds might open if you move too much, don't do anything hasty or drastic."_

"_You…shut up." She said softly, feeling as her head began to spin again lightly. She dropped to her knees slowly, gripping onto the ground tightly to steady herself. She listened as the coordinator pilot, the one who had fought against her for so long, jogged over to her and kneeled down next to her quickly. She coughed lightly but fought back the urge to throw up once more, and she had his hand rubbing her back to thank for that once more._

"_Not a very nice thing to say but if that's what you'd rather I do." He said with a small smile. She looked up at him somewhat, trying to resist the urge to smile in return when she noticed his smile disappear quickly. His eyes shifted to the side and he gave a small sigh after that. _

_Rena looked confused as she looked in the direction he looked, and saw a pair of lights moving over the forest. Small spotlights on what seemed to be a helicopter, circling the forest of the island. She knew the make simply from their positioning. An old Black Hawk helicopter with ammo and travel space to spare. She knew that only Blue Cosmos still had them in effect at the moment. She knew they were coming to rescue her._

_And as she turned to where he stood next to her with a grim look in his eye, she realized that he knew this as well._

--

Rena woke up with a start. She gripped onto the sheets of her bed as she sat up and looked around. Her room still dark thanks to the closed curtains, she quickly stood up and pressed a button to open the curtains automatically. The sun shined through the window, but Rena already began her normal daily routine and ignored the beautiful scene. Other things called Rena's attention in her mind.

She stood in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror, wearing a simple white shirt and panties. She looked away for a moment, shutting the door behind her and pulled off her clothing. She then moved into the shower, and with a twist started up the cold water. She grit her teeth lightly by the sudden feel of cold water rushing over her skin, but did her best to ignore the chill. She felt her eyes widen much more and felt more conscious of her state. For a moment, she could forget the dream she had had only moments before, but knew it would return fairly quickly.

Within the scope of ten minutes, Rena stood in front of her doorway in a clean and pressed uniform. She stood tall as she walked down the hallways, earning a few salutes from guards on station. She nodded to them in return. She had one destination in mind, the only destination for some time in the future. As she walked through the open doorway of the small base prison, she looked towards the guard.

The guard gave a quick salute before he moved over to the cell and knocked on a bar with the butt end of his gun. Rena could hear a light groan come from inside the cell as the occupant woke up. She waited as the guard unlocked the cell door and opened it for the prisoner to exit. But his state caught her somewhat off guard and her eyes widened as she saw him.

There were bruises on his face and he had a black eye. His left cheek was lightly swollen, and he had a bit of dried blood just under his nose. She could see a cut on his lower lip, and a few bruises on his neck as well. She could only imagine how he looked under his clothing, a comment that caused her to successfully fight back a blush as the image came into her mind.

Rena looked over at the guard suddenly, "What is the meaning of this?" She said calmly but her eyes showed just how much she wanted an answer.

The guard quickly stood at attention, "Ma'am, I believe he was taken out of the cell early in the night for another interrogation session!"

Rena looked back over at her prisoner, before looking back at the guard, "Who authorized that? I'm the one in charge of his interrogation, no one else!" She said with a bit more force that caused the guard to gulp slightly.

He remained at attention however as he began, "M-Ma'am, Captain Bagado gave the order." he said in a lower tone, hoping it would bring out a less violent reaction from the High Extended standing in front of him.

Rena swore under her breath as she moved out of the prison area. Ikros looked between the guard and her before quickly following after her, a light limp on his left leg as he moved behind her. She shifted down a familiar pathway and then entered a room different from the normal one, one that had no window on it. She entered it, and waited for Ikros to enter it as well, before looking at the guard, "I want you to get me coffee and some doughnuts as well. Make sure you bring them in quickly!"

With that, she shut the door and waited for the guard's footsteps to disappear. Rena then looked back at her prisoner, and watched as he eased into the chair meant for him to sit in. She stepped around him and sat down in her chair quickly. She knew Captain Bagado well and knocked her fist against her head lightly for not thinking that he would react like this eventually.

She opened her eyes and focused them on her prisoner, "I trust you didn't tell him anything?" She asked calmly.

He shrugged his shoulders, "What do I have to tell? He asked for my name and rank, and when I showed I wouldn't give it, his friends took care of me." He looked to the side as he spoke.

"It's generally not a good idea to be uncooperative during an interrogation."

"Doesn't change what my answer will be."

Rena gave a light sigh as she stood up slowly, "As stubborn as ever," She whispered and then chuckled, "but at least the conversation is more interesting now." She walked over to the door, still waiting for the food she had requested.

"Any reason why he came after me?"

"Maybe he really thinks you have some information that he can use." Rena began before shaking her head lightly, "No…he just doesn't think I'm up to the task of interrogating you."

"It seemed a bit more personal towards me than that."

"He also has no like for coordinators, more than most Blue Cosmos soldiers. He put up a fight when I pled my case to keep you alive for now at least." Rena said with a shrug. "He wants to prove you don't have any information, so that he can kill you off himself."

Ikros gulped silently, glad that he had yet to give them any form of useful information. He sighed as he felt his stomach grumble lightly, realizing he had not gotten any breakfast yet. He did not realize that the door had opened, or that Rena had walked away from the closing door with a platter of pastries and a cup of coffee.

After a few moments however, he finally realized that the pleasant smell in the air. He looked down on the table to see some doughnuts and a cup of coffee in front of him. He looked around and found that his captor stood beside him with a key in her hands. She reached out to pick up both of Ikros' cuffed hands and quickly inserted the key and twisted. The lock clicked and the cuffs slid out of Ikros' wrist.

"Eat up," She said solemnly as she pocketed the cuffs and key and walked back to her seat. She watched as her prisoner quickly took her up on her offer and picked out a glazed doughnut to start biting into. She raised an eyebrow as she thought she saw tears in his eyes as he ate, but waved it off as a trick of the light.

"Don't you want some?" Ikros said with a half-full mouth. He saw her shake her head lightly, to which he shrugged and continued to eat. He took a small sip of the coffee, enough to help him swallow the food in his mouth.

The two remained silent, save for the sound of silent chewing and a bit of slurping every now and then. Rena continued to eye her prisoner lightly, while Ikros looked back at her every now and then strangely. He finally had enough, "What? Is there something on my face?"

"You're…not the type I'd imagine could take a beating and withstand torture." She said honestly with a low tone, "You barely even seem like a soldier."

Ikros gave no answer as he continued to eat, silently wishing that a good response would come to him. Instead, he came to a question, "What's with the better treatment? Don't tell me that Blue Cosmos actually treat their POW's fairly?"

"Don't get your hopes up. They actually consider you to be more of a war criminal, if anything." She said as she leaned her head on her hands, keeping it level with her elbows against the table.

"That doesn't answer the question though." He said as he sucked off some of the sugar on his finger, and finished the cup of coffee. He put the cup on the table and leaned back against the chair, putting his hands on the back of his head gently.

Rena sighed as she relaxed her arm and placed her hands on the table, stretching them out slightly. She then breathed in deeply and calmly, before speaking in a monotone voice, "It's a thank you."

Ikros leaned in a bit with his ear facing her a bit more and a raised eyebrow showing he was unsure he heard correctly, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said it's a thank you." She said a bit more sternly, but turned her head to the side, unwilling to look him in the eye. "You treated my wounds…when we first met. I never thanked you for that."

Ikros looked at her with a raised eyebrow but shrugged his shoulders then and gave a light smile, "Well I eventually had to be in a hospital anyways. That and you helped allow me to survive; you don't need to give me any thanks. Any debt you had, you paid back."

"You say that but…" Rena began, before shaking her head and standing up, "Not even this is enough to make me feel like I've paid you back."

Ikros looked over at her in surprise as she walked over to him, reaching to her side and pulling out her gun. Ikros gripped the table strongly but let go when he watched her set the pistol down on the table, along with an extra clip. "My name is Rena, just so you know." He looked up at her, prepared to ask a question but she had already begun to move towards the door.

"Wait!"

She quickly brought a finger up to her lips and shook her head. His eyes widened as she knocked on the door gently and watched as it clicked from being unlocked and opened. She exited the room quickly, but she could hear her speak, "Secure the prisoner, I'll wait out here."

Ikros, without thinking, reached for the gun and checked for bullets. He aimed it towards the doorway, and watched as the blue uniformed soldier walked in and turned towards Ikros. He froze as he looked down the pistol. Ikros almost thought he would not have to pull the trigger, until the Blue Cosmos soldier reached for his rifle. Ikros pulled the trigger quickly, shutting his eyes inadvertently.

He felt the gun recoil after the shot and he looked at his target. The soldier began to slump to the floor with a bullet hole in his head, bleeding profusely from it. Ikros fought back the urge to throw up right in front of the body, it being the first soldier he had killed while being so close. He shuddered and shook his head as he stood up and pocketed the spare clip.

He avoided the body and cautiously stepped out of the door, looking down the hallway. His eyes met with the relaxed body of Rena as she leaned against the wall. "Not a bad shot I guess." She said calmly and stood up from the wall.

Ikros gritted his teeth slightly as he spoke, "What the hell was that?" He whispered fiercely, "You couldn't at least give me a bit of warning?"

Rena looked over at Ikros and gave a small shrug, "Escape plans should never be big ideas. They should be done on the spot, at least that's when you catch the enemy by surprise, right?"

"But…why the hell are you doing this for me right now? This is a little big for a thank you."

"That's all I've got, but we can discuss this later." Rena said, as she looked down the hallway suddenly and then turned around, grabbing Ikros' gun-free arm. "Time to run Zaku boy."

Ikros turned where she had looked before and realized he could hear some footsteps running towards their direction. He nodded his head as he turned and started running down the clean hallway with as much speed as he could muster, making sure to pull Rena along with him. "Which way?" He asked quickly as a fork came up heading in three different directions.

"Left," Rena said and quickly began to lead the way, Ikros following closely behind her, "We'll go down a few floors with the stairs. We should have enough time to get closer to the ground before they call for reinforcements."

Ikros nodded, following closely after her as she threw her shoulder into a door and opened it forcefully. The door nearly flew off the hinges as it embedded itself slightly into the wall from being opened so forcefully. Rena led them to a long and narrow metal staircase that went up and down. Ikros began to lead the way now, stepping down the stairs carefully and keeping his gun trained ahead of him with Rena close behind him, ready to give instructions.

As they went down the fourth flight of stairs, a red light began to blink on the staircase and an alarm began to reverberate from outside of the building. "Through the door, quick!" Rena said pushing Ikros through.

Ikros threw his shoulder at the door, and hissed as he regretted it instantly. "Ok…bad idea, still healing…" He said through his teeth.

"We need to go down this hallway, we can use the fire escape. Hurry!" Rena said as she pushed Ikros in the right direction.

Ikros nodded as he started to run again, holding his sore shoulder. "Right!" He heard from behind him and turned right into the next corridor. "Turn left and we can reach the fire escape straight forward from then." She whispered and Ikros continued to run forward.

As Ikros and Rena neared the corner, a small sound came causing Ikros to slow down and stop just before turning. He raised a hand to stop Rena as well, and then placed his ear closer to the edge of the wall. He knew he had heard it, the sound the bolt of a rifle being cocked back.

He grit his teeth as he pulled back. His eyes shifted from side to side as he thought on what to do. He could not tell how many people there stood waiting for him. Rena looked confused standing beside Ikros as she tried to notice whatever Ikros had already noticed. Rena's eyes quickly widened when she felt Ikros move his free hand around her neck and held the gun to her head gently. "What floor are we on?" He whispered gently as he positioned himself behind her.

"The…the second floor, why-?"

Ikros walked forward, interrupting her whispered question. He held her tightly as he pressed the gun harder against her temple. There, in front of a window leading to a fire escape stood a small number of soldiers with rifles aimed down towards them, with a single soldier leaning against a wall to the side without a weapon out, gloved hands and his face covered in a balaclava. "Let us through!" Ikros said forcefully, pushing his gun against Rena's temple a bit to emphasize his point.

"Unlikely." Said the soldier leaning against the wall with his gun still in his holster. Ikros noticed the tone of voice, a familiar ring echoed inside his head as the soldier spoke. "No offense to you or anything coordinator, I just don't feel like letting my prey escape me today." He said again, turning towards the two. Ikros could not see his face because of the balaclava, and the soldier wore sunglasses to cover his eyes.

"Who…who are you supposed to be?" Ikros said as his eyes shifted quickly from side to side to get a better idea of where he was according to the building. He saw a window to his right leading to the outside of the building. Along with it, he got a decent view of the base, before turning his eyes back to the soldier.

The soldier pulled out a cigarette and a metal lighter. He gave the lighter a flick to open it and then lit the flame. He lifted his balaclava slightly to show his lips, and placed the cigarette in it. Ikros saw, barely, deep scars moving along his face and down his neck as the soldier lit the cigarette and took a few drawls, blowing smoke out in front of him. The soldier then pulled down his balaclava again, looking at both of them, before shrugging, "Coordinators are not human, they don't deserve common courtesy. Didn't I tell you that before?"

Ikros narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him as he grit his teeth. Before he could say anything however, Rena spoke, "Captain Bagado, what are you doing? Order your men to drop your weapons!"

"Sorry Rena dear," Bagado said with a sigh as he pocketed his lighter, "I'm afraid I can't do that. Situations like this dictate that we hunt down this coordinator animal down, we couldn't possibly let him get away alive."

Ikros growled as he held Rena against him tighter without meaning to, "But I have a hostage!"

Bagado nodded his head lightly as he put his cigarette in his left hand, "So you do coordinator trash." He then reached to his hip with his right hand, "Sorry Rena, I hate letting prey go. And I hate liabilities too." He pulled out the pistol from his side in a quick motion and pulled the trigger.

Ikros felt the bullet impact against Rena, and felt her grow heavier as she slumped against him. He then looked over at Bagado, watching as he holstered his pistol and raised his arms, "Men, prepare to fire."

--

So how was that? I wasn't sure if I wanted to end it here with a cliffhanger, or give it a more solid ending. But in the end, I think the cliffhanger idea works a lot better, especially for a situation like this I guess. Oh and of course, I'm wondering what you think of Bagado and the Ikros solo that's going on here. Not much character development here I know, but that's saved for the next chapter, I assure you.

Next one's gonna be so much fun.

PLEASE REVIEW (Once again note, I am only putting things that will get your attention. I'm not actually yelling at you.)

Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know.

-Hawk Strife


	19. Zaft Traitor

Yo peeps. Wazza?

Ok that was unusual for me. So I'm glad with the pace that I'm going, unfortunately I'm not all too confident with the last part of this chapter. But I'll be more specific after the chapter is over. I hope you enjoy it at the very least. Read and Review if you please. Danka.

-----

Ikros felt his head fall and with quick reflexes pulled his head back up. He sat back up in the small chair he had, blinking the sleep away from his eyes. He lifted and stretched his arms and shoulders. He froze with a hiss as he felt a pain in his neck, stiff from sleeping in such an uncomfortable place and position. He let out a sigh as he looked around the white hospital waiting room. He could not even remember how long he had slept in there, and searched for a clock to see if he could find out.

He sighed as he realized he had only been asleep for an hour at best, and sat down in front of two large white doors. Over the white doors, a light brightly showed the word "surgery" in red bold letters. Ikros gave another sigh as he leaned down and placed his face in his hands, placing his elbows on his legs to keep some elevation and comfort. He moved his fingers over some bandages covering small and thin cuts along his face.

The journey here turned out longer than Ikros expected. He cursed himself mentally as he continually realized that Rena arrived in such a state because of that. He knew that there existed few other options, and none with the capabilities of a good hospital. Ikros had found a decent one at best, and one deep in Zaft controlled territory. He blushed as he remembered what he had forced himself to do to keep her identity secret from the hospital and its soldiers. He sighed as he remembered what he had gone through just to get to here.

--

"_Men, prepare to fire."_

_On those words, Ikros dropped the gun in his hand, grabbed Rena tightly and ran to his right. With the momentum gained, he turned his back towards the window next to him and held Rena in front of his body. He felt his back push and break through the glass; he had no time to think on the small pain coming from pieces of glass cutting along his cheek as another pain would soon come._

_He curved his back slightly and hunched his legs close to his body as he landed on the ground. He kept his head up as best he could but still groaned in pain from the rough landing. The adrenaline began to course through his blood as he listened to a few footsteps from above. The pain of his back completely ignored now, he grabbed Rena and stood up with her, breaking into a run towards the nearest door. He threw his sore shoulder into it and rushed into the large building. He stopped as he realized what building he had entered, as in front of him stood a mobile suit. The Blue Strike had been repaired apparently, all signs of the battle that had occurred two months before erased. _

"_Damnit…just my luck…" Ikros whispered to himself as he kneeled down and let Rena rest on the ground. He ran back to the door and shut it quickly, locking it. He then looked around for a bit before running into a forklift with the keys still in the ignition. He smiled as he turned it on and drove it in front of the doorway, making to sure to make it difficult for anyone to enter. _

_He jumped off quickly and ran over to Rena again, watching as blood from the wound on her chest began to pool on to the floor. He roughly placed a hand on the wound, causing her to force open her eyes and lips as she let out a scream of anguish. She let her head down as she grabbed onto the cause of her pain and looked for it as well. "It's all right!" Ikros yelled, causing her to blink as she stared at him, "Put your hand on your wound, please, we don't have time!"_

_The door suddenly began to bang and yells could be heard from outside. Ikros looked over to it and then looked back down at Rena. He watched her move her hand onto her wound and slipped his hand away as he began to run up metal stairs, and onto the catwalk. He looked down and yelled at her, "Is there a password on your Mobile Suit?"_

_She looked up at him and nodded her head before speaking, "G3884" a dull look in her eyes as she did so. He swore as he noticed this, picking up the pace as he ran along the catwalk, towards the Blue Strike. Without a second though, he jumped onto the shoulder, and quickly gripped onto what imperfections he could find on the armor. He climbed down, finally finding himself on the level of the cockpit before swinging himself in front of it, and grabbing onto a small ledge on the side. _

_With a grunt, he pulled himself up higher. He grit his teeth as he reached over and opened a keypad. "G3884" He whispered to himself as he pressed the buttons. The front door to the cockpit lifted and then stuck out, allowing Ikros to climb into it and grab onto the controls. "Come on buddy, tell me you can start," he whispered as he began to press several buttons. He pulled out a keyboard and began to type in several commands, feeling hope as the screen started up showing the Operating System._

_The banging on the door suddenly began to get louder and Ikros shook his head, he had not won yet. As the mobile suit began to power up, Ikros began to aquaint himself with how the system meant for extended work, and then started to implement what he began to learn. His hands grabbed onto the throttles and began to push the Blue Strike forward, pushing away the clamps placed to impede the mobile suits movement. _

_Ikros then looked towards the door, and watched as it suddenly blew open from what seemed like an explosive. He grit his teeth as he pushed forward more, forcing the mobile suit to reach forward and slam its hand in front of Rena, protecting her body from incoming fire. He quickly pointed the head towards the doorway and pulled a trigger, firing the Vulcan cannons on the head and tearing through the bodies of several soldiers as well as the door and the wall itself. _

_As the dust began to clear from the shots fired, Ikros looked down to see Rena grabbing onto a finger of the Blue Strike. He slowly and gently pulled the hand up, making sure that most of Rena continued to lie on it as he moved it in front of the cockpit. With a small amount of time, Ikros stood up from the seat of the cockpit and grabbed Rena and pulled her into the cockpit. A quick press of a button shut the cockpit door in front of him, and he finally began to feel a bit more secure._

_He looked over at Rena, watching as she weakly blinked her eyes and breathed shallowly. With a grim face he quickly, gripped the sleeve of his uniform, pulling and tearing at it. He tied it around Rena's chest, tightly pushing it against the wound, to at least slow the flow of blood a bit more. She needed help, and he did not know where to go to find it._

_With a curse under his breath, he did the best he could do for now. He launched, pulling out a beam saber and tearing through the rough of the hangar, before boosting higher into the air at an even faster pace. "Where…where can I go?" He whispered to himself as he brought up a map. _

"_Where am I?" He said to himself as he watched the mobile suits computer finally track itself in the world. With a nod to his head, he began to draw the lines between Zaft and the Earth Federation, and quickly plotted a course to a city still in Zaft territory, and with enough resources to have a good enough hospital for a wound like Rena's._

_The trip seemed long although Ikros pushed the machine to go faster than it had ever gone before. The adrenaline began to fade out finally, and he could feel all the pain from the situation that had occurred before, namely the pain in his back that would not subside easily. When he finally neared the settlement, he realized that he had to land some distance away so as not to attract attention. _

_Once done, he then realized that the hospital would likely turn her away because of her uniform. He blushed as he realized what he needed to do. He pulled the clothes off of her, leaving her in her underclothing and replacing the makeshift bandage on her wound with the other sleeve of his uniform. By then she had fallen unconscious, but continued to breath. Ikros wrapped her with what remained of his uniform and started to run towards the city as fast as his legs could carry him. _

--

Ikros ran a hand along his face and leaned back against his chair. Sleeping would not come to him easily, especially with the memories running through his head. After getting to the hospital, the doctors took Rena into surgery. The nurses forced Ikros to fill out and sign several forms, which he did with a different last name for himself and a made up one for Rena. After he had finished, he returned to the Strike. He needed to find a better and more hidden location for it. He praised himself on his good vision when he left a cave with the Strike inside of it, and returned to the hospital and continued to wait.

He bit his fingernails slightly, nervously waiting for the light to turn off. Time passed sluggishly for him, each second more like a minute and each minute like an hour. Finally, unable to handle the stress and fatigue he had held back for so long, he fell asleep.

--

The hours passed as he slept restlessly in the uncomfortable chair. He finally woke with a start, and quickly shut his eyes as the pale walls and the bright lights affected his eyes. As he squinted and tried to force his eyes open to get them used to the light once more, he looked around and searched for a clock.

He first came to find that the light above the door was off, and with that realization he jumped to his feet and looked around for a nurse. He found the waiting room to be empty and the windows giving off no light from the outside.

"Mr. Yucker?" He heard someone say behind him, making him jump and whirl around to see who spoke. In front of him stood one of the doctors, a light smile on his face and a pair of round spectacles over his eyes. He held a billboard in front of him and wore blue scrubs.

"Yes?" Ikros answered as he straightened his back slightly.

"I'm the doctor in charge here. How are you?"

"I'm…fine, how are you?" Ikros started, shaking the doctor's hand when offered. He did not know why, but his voice sounded familiar.

"Good, now I was wondering if there's anything I can do to help." The doctor said with a light smile.

Ikros raised an eyebrow slightly before nodding his head, "Uh yeah, I came in here with a girl who had a bullet wound. She was in surgery for a long time, but I don't know where she is. I mean, the surgery is over so she must be in a room right, could you tell me which one?"

"What was the name of the patient sir?"

"Rena."

Ikros watched as the doctor pulled the billboard up in front of him and began to read down the paper attached to it. A frown appeared on the doctor's brow as his eyes moved from side to side down the paper. He shook his head finally, "No one by that name here."

Ikros began to frown as he shook his head, "That's not possible, I brought her here several hours ago. She was under surgery for many hours after that."

"Mr. Yucker, are you all right?" The doctor asked suddenly, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling out a pocket light. Ikros watched as a bright light shined in his eyes for a few seconds. The doctor placed a hand on his chin slightly as he sighed, "You seem to be showing some signs of fatigue and lack of sleep. You might be hallucinating somewhat, how are you feeling?"

Ikros pushed the hand away, beginning to grit his teeth, "Listen, I know I walked in here with her in my arms. I threw my torn up uniform into the garbage can after you took her into surgery," he said and then pointed to the trash can.

The doctor walked over to it, and looked in slightly before shaking his head, "Um…what uniform are you talking about?" Ikros quickly walked over and stood beside the doctor, looking in to see the trash can completely empty.

Ikros gave a small sigh, "Well maybe the emptied out the trash bags sometime ago, I'm not sure. I was sleeping, but either way I know Rena's in here."

"And I'm afraid I told you that there's no one with that name in here. Mr. Yucker, we need to take a look at you and make sure that you're ok." The doctor said as he grabbed onto Ikros' arm and gently began to pull him towards one of the doors.

Ikros felt the doctor pull him slightly before pulling away. "Wait a second," Ikros realized and looked over at the doctor suspiciously, "How do you know my name?"

"Ikros correct? It was in the paper work you filled out." The doctor said with a light smile.

"But you've been calling me 'Mr. Yucker' since you met me. I never put that down as my last name."

"Oh that," the doctor said and nodded his head slightly. With a quick hand motion behind his back, the doctor then pulled out a small pistol, "background checks tend to happen when a Zaft soldier brings in someone with such a chemical imbalance. We were able to tell she was an extended after some quick tests, which gave us the chance to check you from your picture on file."

Ikros grit his teeth with wide eyes as he stared down the barrel of the gun. Ikros began to feel slightly angry with himself for leaving the gun during the escape as he began to raise his hands in slightly surrender.

"That's good," the doctor said, "because I'm not the only one that was sent here to pick you up. You're outnumbered and surrounded, but by putting up less of a fight, you've given your little girlfriend a bit more time to live."

Ikros narrowed his eyes as the man pulled down the mask, "Zeke? What are you-"

"Save it," the man said with a tightening hold on the gun, "you were part of a failed experiment, one that could never work out. And beyond that, you brought the enemy into a hospital for your people. She should have died where you found her."

"And what are you going to do?" Ikros asked unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"She'll die eventually, but we'll get as much information as we can out of her. But I guess we don't really need to tell you that. Odds are, you'll be dead before she is, by firing squad."

--

Three days later, a rhythmic beeping came off of the machine next to a bed in a hospital room. From the bed, one could see bars on the windows and two armed guards standing outside of the doorway. The first thing that her mind focused on however continued to beep incessantly and annoyed her. She opened her eyes and looked over to see what annoyed her as much as an alarm clock, but she found that this alarm did not tell time.

She watched as it spiked and beeped at the same time, and began to realize the unfamiliarity of the room. A pale white room, with several other pieces of equipment around her and either taking information from her or feeding her something through her bloodstream.

She flexed her hands slightly, realizing that she had a duller sense of feeling, but she felt just as strong, perhaps stronger. She sighed as she realized that the composition of chemicals flowing into her bloodstream felt strange and out of place. She could feel the fact that these chemicals had never flowed through her body before, and her senses began to feel dulled because of it.

She pushed against the bedding and found the strength to be able to get on her feet. She felt a weak pain on her chest, and then began to remember the events that occurred before Bagado had shot her. After that, things got blurry in her memories but she remembered that something held onto her for most of the trip. She remembered her probable rescuer, a person whose name she never got.

She shook her head as she realized she stood in a room with bars on the window and wires attached to her body. She pulled them off from under the patient's garb she wore, and pulled out each needle with chemicals being pushed into her. She did not want to deal with a body dependant on such an outdated composition of chemicals meant for former Extended.

She shook her hands slightly, trying to regain some of their feeling but finding it as a useless effort. The chemicals would not disappear so quickly from her system. She looked towards the door, noticing that the two guards looked completely aware of her state of consciousness, and had probably already radioed it in.

They stepped away from the door slightly, pointing their rifles towards her through the door. She almost rolled her eyes as she stepped up to the door slowly, opening her lips as she called out, "What happened to the man who brought me here?"

The two guards looked at each other before turning their heads back towards her silently. One pulled back the knob on the side of his rifle, cocking it. Rena sighed lightly and narrowed her eyes as she turned around and returned to her bed, sitting down on it, no longer feeling tired. She stretched one of her arms gently, beginning to wonder about the time and date, when the door opened and a man in a black and purple Zaft uniform entered.

The door closed behind him and locked a light smile on his features as he stood near the door with his hands behind his back. Rena did not return the smile given. The man looked to be around his mid-60s with graying hair and evident wrinkles appearing on his face. He coughed into his hand lightly before speaking, "My name is Commandant Milkovich, I'm sure you're already aware of this but you are inside a prison hospital. Where doesn't matter, since you'll be here awhile."

"Do you know where the man who brought me in is?" Rena asked in a serious and even tone.

"I imagine," the commandant began as he relaxed against the flat and pale door, "that he's awaiting execution in his cell."

Rena's eyes widened slightly, "You reward your soldiers for bringing in an enemy with execution?"

The Commandant chuckled lightly as he shook his head, "Not exactly. He's already been on our wanted list for a little bit now, but bringing in an enemy and trying to have her life saved instead of turning her in is also a criminal offense."

Rena remained silent at that, looking towards the barred windows, away from the Commandant. The older man began to move towards the front of the bed, wanting to keep her attention for now.

"I'm sure that makes you slightly surprised, but that isn't important at the moment." The Commandant said as he stood in front of her vision, "what is important is that you give us information that we need to better fight against your kind."

Rena narrowed her eyes as she looked over at the man in front of him, a smile still gracing his features, "Why? Don't you get all your information from studying me?"

"Well, it would seem that not everything we know is current. But we expect you to help us make it current."

"That's a doubtful expectation."

"We'd be willing to give you some sort of a reward. A last request perhaps? Before you are officially executed?"

Rena let out a sigh as she turned her view towards the window again, "When is he scheduled to be executed?"

"Hmm…in a week I believe. But if you'd rather he be executed later tonight, I'm sure I can push it forward." The commandant said with a light grin before realizing that Rena had already stood up on her feet again. She stalked over to him quickly. He felt panic begin to run through his veins as he reached towards his holster and pulled out the pistol.

Before he could bring it to point the barrel towards her face, she grabbed his wrist and spun him around. She tightened her hold on him as he twisted his arm and pushed him against the wall, after which she grabbed the pistol from his hand and pressed it against his temple. "You're stupid, why would I want to kill him when he saved my life once more. I'd rather you start telling your men outside the door to drop their weapons, or you won't have much of a head once I'm done with it."

The Commandant gave a short chuckle as he began to sweat lightly, "Kill me and you lose your only chance of escaping, and I know even you aren't that dumb. We caught your comrade easily, what could you possibly do?"

"You really are stupid, he's a coordinator pilot. I'm an extended soldier, he fights best in the air and my battlefield can also be the ground. I don't need you to escape this place," She said while forcing the gun harder against his temple, "All I need from you is to lead me to my mobile suit so that I can find out where the bastard that keeps saving my life is. After that, we'll be sure to fight our way out of here, for your enjoyment."

--

"You're a whore."

"Is that how you treat most of your friends?"

Ikros grunted a small laugh as he spoke, "Only the ones that trick me, throw me in jail, and wait for my execution date."

"Come on Ikros, I told you already that I was just acting, I didn't really believe you to be a traitor or a spy. You're not devious enough."

"Oh but you are apparently." Ikros said with a scoff and a shake of his head.

The man laughed as he scratched the back of his head, "Well I don't mean to brag or anything…"

"It wasn't a compliment. Damnit, what the hell are you even doing in the military? Isn't that why you became a doctor? To get away from all of that crap?" Ikros half-shouted as he grabbed onto the bars of his cell.

"When your father's the commandant of a base, you're choices grow remarkably smaller when it comes to future jobs."

"Never heard that from you before Milovich…" Ikros said mockingly with a hand on his face as he leaned against the bars.

"I'm a sucker for destiny, what can I say?" he said with a light smile before scratching his head. He brushed his short green hair lightly, pushing his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose as he gave a light-hearted grin.

"Zeke, you're no sucker for destiny. But I'll tell you what you're a sucker for-" Ikros began, but stopped as he listened to the sound of an alarm start to echo through the hallway. "What the hell's that?"

"Sounds like an alarm." Said the green haired man as he stood up and looked over towards a guard. "Shouldn't you go check it out? I'll keep the prisoner company."

The guard looked unsure for a moment, before nodding and running up the stairs from the jail, heading towards the source of the alarm. Zeke shrugged his shoulders as he sighed and looked back at the prison, "I'd back away from there if I were you."

Ikros moved quickly to the back and to the side, "Wait what are you-?" The sound of a gunshot interrupted his question. In silence, he waited and watched as the door to the cell slowly creaked open.

"These things kinda suck…I'm surprised this caliber was enough."

"Zeke…what the hell are you doing?"

"Are jail breaks that uncommon to you?" Zeke said with a light smile as he nodded his head towards the stairs. "I'm under the impression that you're lady friend might have triggered the alarm. Extended seem to have a way of doing that. We'd better move to make sure you meet her in one piece."

"How the hell am I supposed to trust you?"

"Well you're not really," Zeke said with a light shrug and then pointed his pistol at Ikros, "But you have to remember that I have the gun. I'm in a better position than you are."

"Right…" Ikros whispered with narrow eyes and began moving down the hallway as Zeke instructed, moving towards the stairs. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"Well if she's the kind of soldier I think she is, I know where she'll be headed. Which means we're going in the other direction actually."

"What!?"

"Just trust me, it's not that far. We just need to go to that hangar."

"Why, is the Strike there?" Ikros asked as he ran towards the direction Zeke had pointed towards.

"No but there's another mobile suit in there."

"I don't think taking another mobile suit while I'm on the run is a good idea Zeke. And since Zaft is already ready to shoot me down at a moments notice-"

"Ikros, in here." Zeke half-shouted suddenly, running into a hangar and pulling his friend in with him. "All right Ikros, you trust me right?"

"More or less."

"What?"

"Sure we grew up together Zeke, and it was a fun time. But in the end, you got me in so much trouble all those times, I've had to keep my eyes on what you were saying, what you were doing, and what you were thinking all at the same time." Ikros said as he crossed his arms, stating everything without a second thought.

Zeke gave a small grin as he pointed, "Ah, but isn't that why you've become so smart. You had to learn how to think on your feet, which probably made you such a good pilot in the end. You should be thanking me then, right?"

"Zeke is this going anywhere? We don't have time for this!" Ikros said fiercely, gesturing his hands around him to remind him of the alarm still blaring out.

"Look Ikros, I'm Zaft and so are you."

"Not really Zeke, if you haven't noticed, they're trying to kill me. They even branded me a traitor." Ikros said feeling a bit frustrated with his friend.

"This isn't really Zaft remember? The Zala Foundation took control of the Council when the Council members when down to Earth. It's the Zala Foundation that's running the show, and people like my father are simply following orders just because it makes sense to them."

Ikros sighed and nodded his head, "Yeah that makes sense, and I was beginning to figure that. However, that doesn't change the fact that Zaft soldiers are still following the orders of these guys, are they afraid or do they really hate Coordinators that much?"

"How willing are you to fight against Zaft Ikros?" Zeke asked suddenly.

"Since they're going to try and kill me," Ikros said as he narrowed his eyes, "I'm pretty damn willing to fight back."

"Exactly. You've got a reason that other Zaft soldiers are using in order to fight the Naturals." Zeke said with energy, placing a hand on his friends shoulder, "And the Naturals are fighting us the same way, until one wipes the other out this time, there won't be an end."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do about it Zeke? I'd rather go back to Orb, it's safer for me there anyways!"

"The best plan I could find was to draw their battle rage towards something else. Something that can take the heat, survive and fight them off. Once they lose their anger, once they start to think about what the hell their fighting for, that's when we can start to turn things around Ikros."

Ikros looked at his friend strangely before shaking his head, "Who the hell do you think I am? Batman?" He then sighed as he pulled away from his friend and placed a hand on the wall. "Besides I may be a decent pilot, but I'm not that good. I'm gonna need more than just a Zaku to keep off an entire platoon of battle-ready soldiers inside of their own stronghold."

"So you're saying, that if you had a mobile suit powerful enough to help you with this, you'd do it right?"

Ikros sighed as he looked over at Zeke, knowing that whatever trap he had spun would soon ensnare Ikros for a long time to come. In the end however, if it would work to make peace and take down those who had caused the mess in the first place, Ikros would be willing to deal with it. Although, Ikros knew that even the devil could never work him as hard as Zeke would. He gave a slight nod.

Zeke pumped his fist into the air as he walked over to a wall, disappearing into the darkness as the sound of a flip being switched echoed lightly. The sound of electricity moving through the wires and towards the lights could be heard, and as each light turned on with loud claps, Ikros began to realize that he stood below a mobile suit unlike any other he had ever seen before.

"Ikros, I'd like to introduce you to the one-of-a-kind Shell Gundam."

--

"Thanks for picking this up for me and leading me to it." Rena whispered as she slammed the hilt of her gun down on the neck of the Commandant and stretched her shoulder gently.

She looked up at her Blue Strike, and then began to climb up the stairs towards the catwalk. As she moved over to the cockpit, she placed a hand on her leg and cringed as she realized she still wore the patient's garb, without any other clothing underneath.

She fought off her self-consciousness as she moved a little faster, barefoot over the cold metal catwalk. She slid down the front of the mobile suit, blushing all the while as she opened the cockpit and entered it, sitting down snuggly in her seat.

The light smile on her face began to disappear as she started up her mobile suit and looked at the software scheme on it. "Shit…" She whispered as she pulled out a keyboard and slowly began to make sense of it, "I can't believe he did this to my mobile suit…" She whispered fiercely as she closed the cockpit and began to move the Blue Strike to push off all the clamps trying to hold it down and the equipment in its way.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" She whispered fiercely as she sluggishly made progress on fixing her system to the point where she could at least move a bit faster than she could at the moment. "I'd curse you so bad if I knew where you were…or if I knew your freaking name." She whispered again as she continued making small amounts of progress.

She sighed as she tried to remember the next part that would need to be fixed when an explosion sounded on the outside of the hanger. She gulped as she tried to speed up her process, but quickly came to realize that she could go no faster without making critical mistakes to the programming, which would only serve to make her mobile suit more useless.

She took deep and shaky breaths as she moved at a somewhat steady pace with her work. Another explosion sounded as she felt beads of sweat start to condense and move down her face. "Come on, how am I supposed to pay him back if I can't even move. Come on!"

Another explosion sounded and shook the hangar, a hole appearing on the ceiling of the hangar. Giant red fingers gripped through it, beginning to pull away at the armored walls. Along with it, beam sabers and axes began to cut through the walls. "Excessive…" Rena whispered to herself.

Meanwhile, several Zakus and Goufs aimed their weapons at the hangar while a few others cut through slowly. "Easy does it now mobile suits," said the commander from a white Gouf, "we want to save the Commandant. Steady hands!"

"Commander!" A soldier yelled out suddenly from within a Zaku, "There's a large heat signature coming from the Southeast!"

"What? Where?"

"It's in the base, it's moving-" The COM suddenly cut off as explosions rocked on the side of the mobile suit, leaving holes in it before it detonated completely.

"What the hell!?"

Each of the mobile suits pointed their weapons towards where the detonated mobile suit was once standing. "Where did those shots come from!?" Yelled the commander as he studied his radar closely. "Look for the heat source, it's our only definite signal!"

"20 Degrees. South! We've got incoming!"

The ground suddenly began to explode as a rain of explosive shells began to fall. "Take cover!" Yelled the commander, quickly moving his mobile suit away from the hangar with his shield arm over his head.

--

"Well at least that works, now what the hell does the rest of these controls do?" Ikros whispered to himself as he began to read through the words on the screen in front of him.

"This is probably not the best time for this Ikros!"

"Aw quit whining." Ikros said as he found a good summary of the mobile suit. "Oh that's useful!"

"Ikros!"

"What?"

"12 o'clock!"

Ikros looked up at the screen, noticing as several mobile suits began to move towards them. Ikros began to grin as he slid the Shell Gundam to the side with boosters, dodging as the Zakus began to open fire. The metal shells impacted against the ground, and Ikros pushed the Shell Gundam forward.

"Let's see what these Vulcan cannons can do!"

"Give me some warning before boosting forward this fast!"

Ikros grit his teeth again, "I told you to quit whining!" He flipped a switch, and pulled the trigger, firing the Vulcan cannons on the head. Two Zakus felt the impact of each shot, forcing them to step back.

"Now for the finishing touch!" Ikros yelled as he flipped another switch. Outside the cockpit, the Shell Gundam's chest opened to reveal twin gun turrets that immediately began to fire. The shots strafed along the line of mobile suits, quickly cutting them down.

Zeke shook his head as he gripped onto the sit a little tighter, "This things power really is amazing."

Ikros nodded in agreement as he looked over his radar. "Looks like a lot of the guys surrounding the hangar are heading this way. What the heck were they surrounding?"

"The Blue Strike I'm guessing. But since we're obviously a bit more dangerous…" Zeke said with a light shrug.

Ikros nodded his head, "Well, it'll be good practice. I'm worried I've been getting rusty…" He whispered and shifted a switch. The Shell Gundam deployed clamps from the legs, digging into the ground.

The sun shined down on it brightly, showing its colors as it prepared itself for battle. It was a full-sized mobile suit with thick armor plating all around itself. Its joints colored black, and the rest of its armor a shiny dark blue; it stood out with its almost completely solid coloring. Emplaced on the smooth head, a V-shaped insignia in gold stood out above its red eyes. The Shell Gundam had a brown metal square container attached to its back. The mobile suit had two large brown single-barrel cannons, similar to Tank cannons. From the backpack, two black pipes attached themselves to the back of the cannons, loading new shells after each shot.

"Let's see them dodge a bit of this!" Ikros shouted as he locked on to several of the blips on the radar. He smirked slightly as he pulled the trigger. The cannons barrel slid back from the recoil of each shot. The shells arched over and began to tear up the ground with each impact.

"Watch that hangar!" Zeke yelled out suddenly.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Ikros said, firing again and watching as several blips began to disappear from radar. "Damn man, these shots are either really accurate or really powerful. I don't even have a visual on these guys."

"Looks like you're about to."

The Gundam's head moved up to watch as three Goufs landed on the ground, each with their blades out, prepared for melee combat. Ikros shook his head as he aimed his cannons at them. Zeke gasped slightly as he spoke, "You can't be serious! Their too close!"

"Which means I can't miss!" Ikros responded and fired his cannons at the Goufs. Of the first two shells that he launched, one bounced and exploded off of the lead Gouf's shield, while the second one tore off another one's leg. "Hmm, didn't expect that."

"Damnit Ikros!" Zeke shouted as the lead Gouf started to rush them.

Ikros quickly flipped a switch and pulled the trigger, firing from the gun turrets on the chest and the Vulcan cannons at the same time. The sudden attack caught the lead Gouf in its crossfire, shaking the entire mobile suit as it took hits from each bullet. Holes riddled the Gouf's armor until it exploded while the Shell Gundam continued to fire at it.

"2 o'clock high!" Zeke yelled out.

Ikros looked up to see the only moving mobile suit attack from the air. "Perfect time to test these out." Ikros whispered as he pressed a button. The Gundam stood strong as the top of the backpack suddenly opened and several short-range missiles shot out and homed in on the moving Gouf. It brought its shield up as the pilot tried to protect himself, but the missiles explosions eventually tore away the arm. The rest of the missiles finished the Gouf off, and Ikros finished off the last one with a single shot from the tank cannons.

"Looks like the radar's clear Zeke, for now anyways. Time to pick up a friend." Ikros said with a smile as he made the Gundam lower its stance and begin to power up its boosters. In a sudden explosion of sound and momentum, the Gundam launched into the air and arched directly towards the hangar. Ikros began to notice several holes along the wall of the hangar as he neared the ground again, hitting a button to slow the descent with more power from the leg and back boosters.

The Shell Gundam bent its legs to the knee as it hit the ground. Ikros lowered a lever and watched as the cannon barrels shrank to a size smaller than the arms, allowing for a bit more maneuverability with the hands. Ikros then began to tear through the metal walls at places where beam swords and axes had already cut through. "Hey Rena, you in there?" Ikros said through the COM link.

The radio remained silent for a little bit before it crackled suddenly. A voice only screen appeared in the corner and the two heard her speak in her normal monotone voice, "Where the hell have you been?"

Ikros smirked as he shrugged his shoulders, "Just testing out a new mobile suit that's all." He had the Shell Gundam pull back even more of the armor, tearing a hole big enough for him to walk through. He looked into the screen and had it zoom in on something specific, "I think I found your father Zeke."

"Huh?" Zeke said in surprise before looking with Ikros, "oh…yeah your right, that's weird…"

"I had to find some way to escape!" Rena half shouted, "he presented an opportunity…he's really not very smart is he."

Zeke gave a nervous chuckle while Ikros shook his head lightly. Ikros then spoke, "So why the hell are you still here, is there a problem?"

"Is there a problem!?" Rena almost screamed through the COM, making Ikros flinch slightly. He never expected her to speak in such a tone or volume. Her next comment came off a bit more restrained, "The only problem I have is that fact that you changed my mobile suits OS and now I have to fix it just so I can use it!"

Ikros nodded his head lightly, "Oh…is that the problem? I can fix that."

"No time, the bad guys are coming back." Zeke whispered as he kept an eye on the radar from where he stood.

Ikros nodded, "Rena, what can you use?"

"I've got movements of the hands and legs, but nothing big. I can hold things."

"Good enough," Ikros said as he piloted his Gundam inside of the hangar, stopping just in front of the Blue Strike. "See if you can grab onto the Shell's arms. I can boost us some distance at least."

"Do you have the power for that?"

"Definitely, the Phase Shift armor was on before I was inside the cockpit." Ikros said as he used the Shell to grab onto the Strike's arm. "Ready to go?"

"I hate this place. Move faster." Rena said. She fell back against her seat when she suddenly felt G-forces hit her hard as the Shell Gundam boosted through the ceiling of the hangar and high into the air.

-----

Ok, so you might have guessed but the part I really didn't like was how I got the details of the battles and the Gundam. If anyone is confused or didn't like what they saw with this Gundam, I'm sorry but I was having a hard time pulling off battles before, this is a battle with a different kind of fighting style (One I've only truly seen with the Heavy Arms Gundam, although this one is more dangerous). I hope you liked the new Gundam, there will be two more where that came from. :D Review por favor,

I will be resting and thinking of the next chapter. Should be another Ikros Yucker Chapter.

Later guys.

-Hawk Strife


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